Mini World Game Console

The stars faded into the night, and bullfrogs called chaotically.

Located in the suburbs, the croaks from nearby ponds could be heard even in the upper floors of Heavenly Lotus Academy during summer nights—Ren Suo didn't know if they were actually bullfrogs, but they sounded like frogs belching continuously after a satisfying meal.

Ren Suo had already slept for over a dozen hours yesterday and hadn't done any Cultivation today either. After eating, he went straight to bed and slept soundly. Now, even after midnight, he was still brimming with energy.

Of all the effects from "Evolution of the Cat," such as enhanced agility, Dark Vision, and the pleasure of being petted, none were more helpful to Ren Suo than "Free Sleep."

Otherwise, if Ren Suo still wanted to play games all night, he would have to rely on pulling an all-nighter or depend on "Unlimited Energy" to do so. Even now that his nutrition had improved, he dared not attempt such a thing.

Now, in the "Free Game of the Week" category, only one game was left. Ren Suo had no other choice, but fortunately, this game did not disappoint him—

"My Life is Not Your Game"

"This game is a fantasy role-playing surreal adventure. The seeds planted earlier have sprouted, and the flower of fate is bearing sweet fruit. Isn't it simpler to solve all troubles at once? No need to upload mission evaluations for this game. The minimum reward for clearing is 300 Merit Points, and the exclusive reward depends on the result of the clear. In-game purchases are available, as there's only one chapter, with no ensuing expansions, and the difficulty level is: 4 stars."

The minimum reward, 300 Merit Points! It's the minimum, not the maximum!

Seeing this, Ren Suo's anxious heart could finally relax. A game that could definitely be cleared, a 4-star game that would certainly reward 300 Merit Points—what more could he need?

After gleefully selecting the game, a brand-new icon appeared in the main interface's game column.

The fusion game seemed indeed rushed, as even the icon faintly exuded a sense of poverty. The entire icon was only in black and white, like yin and yang, with the white and black parts intertwining to form a young man's silhouette. This silhouette was split into left and right halves, clearly defined.

The mouth on the white side was wide open, as if in surprise and confusion. The corner of the mouth on the black side was turned up, seemingly with a mocking smile.

However, as soon as Ren Suo chose to enter the game, the white part was devoured by the black part, leaving the eerie, dark, cold smiley face as the sole image.

All he saw was the character raising both hands, palms up, holding up a sentence:

"Let the pleasure before the pain begin."

The name for starting this game is kind of strange... and it can't be saved and reloaded again? Ren Suo hesitated for a bit, then started a new game.

Then, as soon as the game started, Ren Suo was stunned—

This game turned out to be a pixel-art RPG of mosaic quality! Even Ren Suo could make one with RPG Maker!

Below the screen, there were a few tiles that made up what looked like a bathroom environment, and a pixelated little figure had a dialogue box overhead:

"Tch, wearing a suit is really inconvenient. Damn, who threw up here... huh?"

"No way... Impossible!"

"My life is not a game!"

"Oh?" Ren Suo perked up.

It had to be said, the art style of this game was incredibly bad. RPGs Ren Suo played ten years ago at least had some character illustrations, whereas now, after counting carefully, this character might only consist of around 25 pixels—just enough to fit inside a square.

The scene setting also barely reached the level of 'requiring imagination to understand.' Of course, one could also consider it 'retro pixel art,' which wasn't entirely inappropriate, as it didn't affect Ren Suo's understanding of the visual information.

At least, Ren Suo could roughly recognize that the character in the bathroom was a man—after all, there were urinals in the bathroom.

What Ren Suo didn't expect was that this game character seemed to be able to cross dimensional boundaries, aware that it was inside a game!

The game character appeared to be looking out of the screen at Ren Suo, with a few words popping up in the dialogue box: "Impossible! If this is true, then wouldn't I be in danger! Is there any possibility of negotiation? Hmm... Ah! AHH! AHHHHH! Everything is beyond salvaging now! That said, what should come next is... it's too late—"

This game character, who seemed to be aware of the player's existence, after a bout of babbling to himself, suddenly caused the game to change along with his speech—the small space that was originally a toilet instantly transformed into a resplendently golden... toilet.

This character, who had been wearing a suit, also transformed in a flash into a noble dressed in an opulent cloak. As for how opulent it was, Ren Suo couldn't tell—the character only had 25 pixels. The fact that Ren Suo could even imagine 'opulent' was already quite good.

He no longer spoke those messy soliloquies but instead delivered a very pretentious, over-the-top line, "I will revolt against the handsome, dignified, and mighty Supreme Overlord. Supreme Overlord, remember this: behind every pleasure destiny endows, an equivalent pain has been prepared."

At this point, the other dark parts of the game finally lit up. Outside, it seemed to be a scene of a royal banquet. Many pixelated figures were talking and eating at the feast. At the uppermost spot, there were some NPCs with slightly more detailed pixel effects. One of them, looking like a little princess NPC, was flickering with a white border and had a name hovering above her head: "Lady of Light."

Then, a mission objective popped up at the top of the game:

"Objective: Protect the Lady of Light"

"Strategy Hint: The strategy is being researched based on available information... Please control the character to freely explore."

The system itself is researching strategies but still wants the player to help gather information? It wasn't like this before. How is this any different from summer homework where the answer key simply says 'omitted'? 'Try doing it first, and once you're done, I'll give you the answer.'

Grumbling aside, Ren Suo still diligently controlled the protagonist to explore. The specific control method involved using the D-pad to move the protagonist up, down, left, and right. When approaching other objects, pressing '○' allowed for inspection.

The name hovering over the protagonist was 'Rebel.' At first, Ren Suo didn't quite understand what that meant, but he soon realized—

He let the protagonist defecate and urinate in the toilet; no problem, the character was very willing to have a profound yet simple interaction with the toilet bowl. But if he made the protagonist investigate the door, trying to leave the toilet, the only choice that popped up was:

"This is my revolt; I do not wish to!"

After trying for a few minutes, Ren Suo had the protagonist examine every tile in the toilet and still couldn't leave, so the only correct choice must be that door. However, the character was a 'Rebel' and would not, under any circumstances, obey Ren Suo's control to open the door and leave.

Ren Suo had never before encountered a game character who would go against the player like this. Even an adventurer, at worst, would just shamelessly show off. How could any character be as disobedient as this Rebel?

One could even say that among all the protagonists of the Mini-World Game Console, the Rebel was a unique existence. This protagonist seemed to have his own personality and character setup from the beginning, without needing Ren Suo to influence and nurture him through actions.

At this time, the system's strategy hint finally updated:

"Strategy Hint: Gain the attention of Her Royal Highness the Princess, and you will have good luck (find a way to communicate with Her Royal Highness the Princess) (more strategy hints are being researched)."

At the top of the screen, in the central position of the banquet hall, a girl next to the Lady of Light was marked with a flashing yellow border, and a name emerged above her head: "Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Although having a strategy hint was a good thing, Ren Suo still couldn't get the Rebel to leave the toilet. This strategy hint did somewhat narrow down the main objective, but it felt like going from aiming to make a billion to just a million. For the Rebel, who wouldn't work no matter what, he couldn't accomplish anything, nor was he willing to try.

What to do?

Ren Suo patiently had the Rebel go around for nearly 40 minutes before many NPCs emitting a red glow suddenly appeared in the banquet hall, shouting the slogan 'Kill the Lady of Light' as they rushed in.

Some of these NPCs wore blood-red armor reminiscent of demons; others were cloaked in deep black capes, looking exactly like the villainous demons and mages from old-school RPGs. They clashed fiercely with the knights and guests of the banquet hall.

The battle was wildly intense. The Lady of Light, flickering with a white border, was initially standing aside. However, for some reason, she suddenly joined the fray. She fought so ferociously it was as if heaven and earth were shattering, with data overflowing.

Ren Suo watched as the pixels on the TV screen blew the image into chaos. Then the aftershocks of the battle even reached the toilet—

Soon, because he was hiding in the bathroom, the Rebel was caught in the battle's aftermath and died.

"Your death is so worthless, it even makes me want to laugh."

"Mission failed."

"Do you want to restart the joy before the pain? (Requires 1 Merit Point)"

Ren Suo almost threw the controller. What the heck is this!

He spent dozens of minutes studying this terrible game, and this is the only result he got?

And restarting the game even consumes Merit Points?

Fusion games are indeed huge traps! Other than the game protagonist's setting being somewhat interesting, everything else is just crap!

The graphics were terrible, the music was garbage, and there was no voice acting at all. Ren Suo even suspected the reason this game didn't require uploading a mission review. Perhaps it wasn't a 'realistic game' from the Mini-World Game Console at all, but purely a semi-finished game made by some enthusiast...

How could this fantasy-style game be considered surreal? Could it be that the protagonist has crossed over?

"I will never play such a crappy game again!" Ren Suo angrily put down the controller.

When he returned with a cup of seafood-flavored instant noodles, he casually picked up the controller again. Just kidding. Those 300 Merit Points were crucial; they were vital for his survival, absolutely vital! If he gave up on this game, with Ren Suo's current finances, at most he could only afford to play a 3-star game.

Besides, although the strategy hints were still pretty terrible at the moment, more hints would definitely appear as time went on. Clearing the levels then should be easy; it would just be time-consuming.

As for the 1 Merit Point cost to restart, it meant nothing to Ren Suo. After all, his "Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose" privilege thrived on such low-value Merit Point consumptions. For Ren Suo, it was practically free.

The game directly skipped the part where the Rebel was talking to himself, starting from the point where the art style turned magical.

The strategy hint also updated, but Ren Suo couldn't understand what it was trying to convey at all: "A brave heart is the secret to invincibility (To change the game, start with changing yourself!)."

Then a flickering blue frame appeared around the Rebel's silhouette.

You're a strategy hint, not an inspirational quote, man!

But Ren Suo didn't expect that when he restarted the game and had the Rebel try to open the door, the Rebel had a new inner monologue:

"Great terror lies between life and death; I should not stay beneath dangerous walls."

Then the Rebel left the bathroom!

He chickened out!

So much for a brave heart being the secret to invincibility; being a coward can also lead to progress!

Ren Suo finally figured out the game's pattern—after the Rebel experienced the 'die if you don't leave the toilet' ending once, upon restarting, the Rebel would naturally change his mind.

Just when Ren Suo thought he found the key setting, he discovered that without his control, the Rebel actually ran out of the banquet hall on his own. He ran.

The protagonist actually ran away!

By the time Ren Suo realized, the Rebel had already run out of the banquet hall! No matter what he did, no matter how furiously he pressed the buttons on the controller, he couldn't make the Rebel reappear!

This time, Ren Suo didn't need to wait for 40 minutes—because at 25 minutes, the system popped up a prompt:

"The Rebel has fallen asleep."

"Mission failed."

"Your loss is so worthless, it even makes me want to burst out laughing."

"Do you want to restart the joy before the pain? (Requires 1 Merit Point)"

Looking at the game returning to the initial interface, Ren Suo could only be described as 'stunned.'

It was his first time seeing... a protagonist who moves on their own and directly causes the mission to fail!

In other RPGs, if the protagonist moves on their own, it's usually to follow the script and develop the plot. But the Rebel just ran away, preventing any plot development and forcing the player to start over!

Ren Suo began his third attempt. This time, as soon as the Rebel left the bathroom, Ren Suo held the controller and made the Rebel move in the direction opposite to the banquet hall door!

Frankly speaking, these kinds of power struggles aren't uncommon in games. For example, in some fighting games, when both sides' special moves clash, a power struggle ensues. This mechanic can have a tremendous impact, making players strain their fingers or even break their keyboards or controllers.

But having a power struggle with his own game protagonist—this was a first for Ren Suo!

However, since his strength couldn't be increased through the controller to intensify the control, he could only watch helplessly as the Rebel slowly but steadily advanced toward the banquet hall door!

"My destiny is mine to shape, not fated by the heavens!" The Rebel's dialogue box burst forth with this phrase, and he floated away from the banquet hall, infuriating Ren Suo so much he almost broke the D-pad on the controller.

The point of this game isn't about clearing the conditions at all; with the system's help, clearing it is almost inevitable!

The biggest difficulty in this game is how to make the Rebel obey! Once you can make the Rebel listen, it's just a matter of time!

The player's only enemy is the protagonist!

Ren Suo started his fifth playthrough. This time, the "Strategy Hint" finally updated with some reliable content:

"Living in this world is like being caught in a web called human relationships, and no one can escape (You can influence the Rebel's actions through other NPCs)."

"Oh?" Ren Suo was stunned for a moment and focused his attention on other characters in the banquet hall.

At this moment, several NPCs in the scene had a flickering red frame around them; they were likely the NPCs mentioned in the hint that could influence the Rebel.

Ren Suo tried it and found that after clicking "×", his viewpoint control no longer locked onto the Rebel; it became a movable box.

There were many NPCs in the banquet hall, but to Ren Suo, they all looked the same. Each was composed of 25 pixels, complete with a head, body, and limbs; one couldn't ask for too much.

He clicked on one of the red-framed female characters. She stood close to the Lady of Light and Her Royal Highness the Princess, seemingly of high status.

After Ren Suo clicked, the female character's name appeared above her head: "Reversed Female Demon."

Then a thought bubble appeared above her head: (The Rebel seems to have gone to the bathroom...?)

Immediately after, three options appeared next to the Female Demon:

"Go talk to the Rebel (consumes 2 Merit Points)"

"Find others to go to the Rebel with you (consumes 3 Merit Points)"

"Attack the Rebel (consumes 5 Merit Points)"

At that moment, the gamer's Talent within Ren Suo allowed him to keenly sense something.

The real target of this game is indeed... to screw over the protagonist?

Ren Suo's eyes instantly lit up. So you want to rebel? You want to disobey? Now I'll show you who's the boss!