Mini World Game Console

"My Life is Not Your Game" was still generating its next level, so Ren Suo was temporarily free.

Meanwhile, Li Dan worked with remarkable efficiency and within a day or two had arranged everything for Ren Suo's research group.

It wasn't clear if Li Dan had communicated Ren Suo's wish to work from home to the academy, but Teacher Huo He, the head of teaching, still notified Ren Suo to visit the research building to claim his research activity room.

Teacher Huo He was a middle-aged woman who wore glasses and looked quite stern, exactly as a head of teaching should appear; a Non-Awakener, not even a Cultivator, yet it seemed like most of the academy's operations needed her approval.

In the academy's faculty, at least 40% were ordinary people. Ren Suo noted that many important positions, such as those in finance and logistics, were almost never occupied by Cultivators. It was even more common for Cultivators to serve only as assistants. For instance, Yu Kuangtu was still only the Deputy Director of the Tactical Bureau. The actual director was said to be a middle-aged man who had led major departments for years and excelled in management.

This was not just about separation of powers or oversight; it was more a reflection of the official stance: equality for all.

A Cultivator was first and foremost a person, and only then a special worker with Supernatural Ability. The authorities neither granted special privileges to Cultivators nor discriminated against their existence.

Except for a small number of Awakeners who considered themselves the Sons of Destiny, shouting behind keyboards on the internet, most Awakeners that Ren Suo knew were quite content with their current work environment—if all Cultivators were corralled into a single department, granted privileges, and kept away from ordinary people to perpetuate the image that Cultivators were 'above others,' that would be truly devastating.

Although the public greatly admired Cultivators, they did not fear them; after all, the state had opened channels for Cultivation, and there might even be Cultivation schools for middle-aged and elderly people in the future. With the opportunity for everyone to cultivate, there was admiration without fear.

Teacher Huo He's demeanor didn't change throughout her interaction with Ren Suo, and when encountering other Cultivation teachers on the way, they would respectfully greet her first. It seemed Teacher Huo He had substantial authority in her regular work, and even though she was an ordinary person, Cultivators did not think any less of her.

Teacher Huo He led Ren Suo to the second floor of the research building, into an empty classroom and said, "This is the location for your research group activities."

Ren Suo scratched his head, "I'm the only researcher right now; this room will be empty even if you give it to me..."

"The academy is planning to let students and staff voluntarily form social clubs," Teacher Huo He pushed her glasses up and continued, "Monk Ren, your 'Ren Naiser Research Group' is considered a good club activity by the academy, and the academy hopes you can use it to start an interest club. If you don't intend to use this activity room, then use it as the venue for the 'Ren Naiser Study Club'."

"A club?" Ren Suo was startled. "I don't really have that much free time..."

Teacher Huo He looked up and gave Ren Suo a penetrating look that seemed to see through the lethargy behind his mask.

But since Ren Suo was a colleague and not a student, Teacher Huo He didn't say much else, but mentioned, "Don't worry, club activities don't require much from the club teacher. Students don't enjoy teachers meddling in their affairs. You only need to provide some audio-visual materials and remind students to conduct major activities properly. Beyond that, you can largely ignore the club's activities."

Seeing Ren Suo still showing reluctance, Teacher Huo He coughed and said, "Though the Tactical Bureau applied for your research group, a slot is a slot, and you, Monk Ren, are now part of the academy, occupying a research position designated for the academy..."

"Actually, the academy wasn't keen on approving such a superficial research direction and would prefer teachers focus on areas more likely to yield results. However, the academy is new, there aren't many researchers, and the Tactical System made a statement, so they agreed to Monk Ren's research request."

"You used the academy's power to gain entry into the circle of research but plan to contribute no effort at all?"

Teacher Huo He became increasingly strict as she spoke, and Ren Suo immediately surrendered, "Alright, alright, I'm willing to help start the club. I apologize for my previous lack of conscientiousness."

Teacher Huo He's expression softened somewhat, handing over the Key to the activity room to Ren Suo, "If the club does well and has many members, the authorities will allocate funding, and the club president will receive a bonus."

She patted Ren Suo on the shoulder, "Plus, young people should interact more with their peers. I notice you often work from home and hardly make new friends, which isn't good for young people."

Was this a scolding followed by a reward? Ren Suo couldn't help but feel amused as he nodded repeatedly, "You're right, Teacher Huo."

"But!" Teacher Huo He became stern again. "It's fine to make friends with students, but you must never develop relationships that go beyond friendship. To students who are naive to the world, we are teachers 'in a position of advantage.' If a teacher exploits this advantage to gain students' adoration that goes beyond friendship, it is disgraceful!"

"Understood, understood." Ren Suo nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken, thinking to himself, She needn't worry; my knowledge has been declining since its peak during the college entrance exams. I have no ability to elicit students' admiration.

...

Ren Suo returned home, turned on the Mini-World Game Console to check on it, and the second level still hadn't appeared, but system messages were incessantly updating:

The Rebel studied for 1 hour, Knowledge +16;

The Rebel studied for 1 hour, Knowledge +17;

The Rebel went to the bathroom, which took 0.5 hours;

The Rebel worked for 1 hour;

The Rebel cultivated for 1 hour, Cultivation +5;

The Rebel went to the bathroom, which took 0.4 hours;

The Rebel took a bath, which took 0.5 hours;

The Rebel went to have lunch, which took 1 hour;

The Rebel cultivated for 1 hour, Cultivation +6;

The Rebel went to the bathroom, taking up 0.3 hours;

The Rebel took a bath, taking up 0.5 hours;

...

Ren Suo looked through it and found records of the Rebel's daily activities over about three days, which were still being updated. But he keenly observed an issue—the Rebel sure took lots of bathroom breaks, and even bathed three times a day!

Could it be that the Rebel was so clever as to use these high-priority events as excuses to slack off?

Ren Suo blinked, thinking, Maybe I shouldn't assume such terrible things about my game character—maybe the Rebel just has prostate issues? Or perhaps he's just a clean freak and needs to bathe frequently?

Even so, aware that the Rebel was up to some tricks, Ren Suo couldn't do much about it. Since the Rebel was still steadily growing in strength despite the laziness, Ren Suo turned a blind eye.

Suddenly, Ren Suo thought of something and opened the schedule.

Before the game generated the next level, the Rebel was in a continuous state of daily life, which Ren Suo could adjust partway through.

He scrolled down the options list in the schedule and, sure enough, found the option he was anticipating—

"Dating"

"I never would have guessed that a serious-looking Rebel like you could actually date…"

Ren Suo clicked his tongue in wonder, but he just looked, with no intention of enabling the Rebel's love life.

You're still young right now, Rebel; your studies are what's important. You need to study hard and cultivate diligently. Once you clear the level, the teacher... I mean, the Player... won't bother you anymore. Then you can date freely!

Ren Suo adjusted the study and cultivation times a bit to see which was more efficient during different periods, and after he finished, he realized it was almost noon.

Today, as usual, Ren Suo needed to fend for himself for food.

Eat at the cafeteria? Ren Suo winced and shook his head—ever since the freshmen arrived, the third floor of the cafeteria started filling up with even more people, and they all seemed to know that the third floor served better food, making it their first choice.

Even if Ren Suo managed to get food from the cafeteria, that didn't guarantee he'd find a place to sit. As for the first and second floors, he didn't even consider them—his taste buds had become too discerning.

Better order delivery.

Ren Suo made up his mind, but instead of reaching for his phone, he went to the Equipment Interface to dress himself in "Struggle Warrior (Damaged)".

A moment later, Ren Suo handed the "Listening Headphones" and a hat to his well-dressed clone and said, "Today I feel like eating cod roe cream pasta. It's only available at the Japanese restaurant downtown; get three orders to go."

Since Heavenly Lotus Academy didn't allow delivery staff inside the campus, Ren Suo had no choice but to underutilize his clone by sending it on this errand.

However, Ren Suo had recently discovered that the clone seemed to share all the abilities of his True Form, including the Skills, props, and Bond Abilities equipped in the Mini-World Game Console. For example, there was one time when the clone, while mopping the floor, accidentally brushed against Ren Suo and, with a sidestep, its little toe attacked the corner of the table.

Then Ren Suo watched the clone immediately lower itself to perform "Pain-Relieving Therapy" on its injured toe.

Ren Suo was stunned by this incident, realizing that clones had much untapped Potential, and that their logic system was very comprehensive. If the clone was doing a task of average priority and got injured, it would prioritize healing itself.

Ren Suo quickly verified that the clone could use all the abilities that his True Form was currently equipped with, and he could set detailed logic chains for the clone so that it wouldn't reveal any flaws!

Then, Ren Suo would take every opportunity when summoning the clone to fine-tune it, gradually creating a perfect clone without a single flaw, with abilities identical to his, logic and intelligence that matched his, and even superior in IQ, EQ, and personality!

——And then Ren Suo sent the clone to buy takeout.

What else could he do? The clone wasn't capable of creative activities, couldn't write papers, and Ren Suo didn't trust it with any public-facing jobs. After all, a clone could only last for a little over two hours—if it got too busy and couldn't return on time, wouldn't it disappear in front of everyone?

Without any battles to fight, squeezing the remaining labor value from the clone to improve his quality of life was the best option.

Ren Suo brewed himself a cup of milk tea, sat in front of the computer, watched some videos, browsed the internal network, and quietly waited for his Researcher Level to be promoted.

"Ah." After taking a sip of the smooth milk tea, Ren Suo comfortably settled into his computer chair, idly absorbing the latest news from the internal network, liking posts, and dropping comments—very leisurely indeed.

Once the delivery arrived, Ren Suo could enjoy his meal while watching TV shows or movies, spending an ordinary afternoon.

It wasn't Ren Suo's fault—the game was still generating, and there wasn't much for him to do.

It's not that there was nothing to do; occasionally, the thought Should I cultivate? flickered through Ren Suo's mind, but he had only recently achieved the minor goal of 'breaking through to the second advancement,' so a certain slackness in his motivation was natural.

"I'll cultivate tomorrow... after I clear the game!" Ren Suo inwardly resolved.