Mini World Game Console

Little Jiu had died 13 times over the course of a few days, all at the hands of small soldiers.

When Ren Suo asked Little Jiu to go to sleep, she reluctantly said, "I've memorized where those Strange Creatures appear. Next time, if I lure them out one by one and kill them, I'm sure I can get past..."

"Alright, alright, go to bed, child. You still have an extra 65 minutes of studying to do tomorrow."

"Big brother, I can't sleep. Let me play for another half an hour... Fifteen minutes! Five minutes! Just let me get through this part! I know what to do now. As soon as I lie down, I remember I should throw the Flame Pot on the second floor to blow up that dog first, then lift the shield and stab the ax-wielding soldier from behind..."

"Hey!? Little Jiu, look, it seems like I didn't trim my nails!"

Once Little Jiu drifted off to sleep with a look of reluctance, Ren Suo went to cut his nails and then continued with his journey in 'Inverted World'.

In the game, Maid Xiao Suo and Young Master Mu saved a girl who was almost drowned by a Water Ghost. When the girl regained consciousness, she still seemed quite scared. Then Maid Xiao Suo approached her—

'Maid Xiao Suo used "Soothe" on the girl, and her panicked emotions gradually calmed down.'

'Due to special reasons, Young Master Mu's mood was slightly affected.'

It was the moment to trigger a special scene. As long as Young Master Mu's mood didn't decrease, Ren Suo wasn't too bothered and just wanted to push the story forward.

After a round of questioning, Ren Suo learned that the girl was just a civilian passing by. As she walked by the river, she became mesmerized by the moonlight reflecting off the rippling surface, and for some reason, she just walked into the water. In the middle of the river, she was caught by a Water Ghost and nearly drowned.

The overall clue level didn't increase at all, but Young Master Mu continued to ask, "Do you know about the villain who was killed here by the Soul Hall a few days ago?"

The girl did know a bit—she was even one of the onlookers who had watched the villain get killed.

"It was at dusk, on my way home, when I saw the villain cornered here by a large group of Soul Hall Warriors. Even though he was surrounded by the Soul Hall Warriors, he wasn't scared at all. He was a young man who looked quite ferocious, with squinting eyes, pockmarks on his face, and a high hairline... Even though he ran, with no way out, he didn't surrender. Instead, he charged at the Soul Hall Warriors. After one of his hands was cut off, he bit down on the blade of a kitchen knife to Attack them. He was very, very..."

At this point, the girl used a strange adjective: "Brave."

Young Master Mu was also puzzled, "Brave?"

"Yes, he was very Brave. His Clothing was soaked with blood, surrounded by people who were there to capture him, but he didn't beg for mercy. Despite Serious Injuries, he bravely charged forward. Even when he was subdued with severed limbs, he still bit a Soul Hall Warrior's throat, killing him and forcing the other Soul Hall Warriors to execute him..."

From the girl's description, Ren Suo also roughly depicted the image of the villain: medium build, sparse hair, squinting eyes that were uncomfortable to look at, and the pockmarks on his face suggesting he probably didn't have much luck with the opposite gender.

On the riverbank bathed in dim light, the fleeing man was surrounded by dozens of Soul Hall Warriors, with no hope for escape. So he turned around and drew his weapon to confront the Soul Hall Warriors. With no way back, no allies beside him, and only insurmountable foes ahead, he still launched a desperate Charge. He didn't beg for mercy, wail in pain, or fall to the ground. As long as he was breathing, he was not defeated. Even with his limbs cut off, he managed to kill an enemy by biting them...

The term 'ruthless bandit' no longer suited him; perhaps 'Brave' was more fitting—ruthless bandits are cruel to others, whereas Brave individuals can be cruel to both others and themselves.

"But he also deserved to die for his crimes. Apparently, he killed nineteen ordinary people besides the Soul Hall Warriors," the girl concluded about the life of the villain.

After the girl left, the night's investigation was not over. Ren Suo then controlled Young Master Mu to activate 'Demon's Heavenly Eye' and walk around to see if he could find any other clues. It seemed that because of the young lady's statement just now, when Young Master Mu activated "Demon's Heavenly Eye," he immediately noticed a large patch of pink traces by the riverbank—the mark of blood that had flowed.

Young Master Mu followed the trail, and the scene flashed back to some past events. This villain who went to his death seemed to have no fear at all, and though his Attack methods were quite immature, he managed to stay rational throughout. He killed nineteen people for no apparent reason. Shouldn't he be a fiend who lost his sanity due to Demonic Possession? Even though he clearly had no combat experience, he had a heart of steel for battle. Before he died in battle, he seemed to have mentioned something about 'the day the Demon Lord descends.' The Water Ghost that appeared here seems to be somewhat related to his death in battle... It seems to be due to his blood flowing into the river. The doubts are only growing more numerous.

Although Young Master Mu said this, the overall clue progress honestly rose, reaching 7.9%. Significant progress!

Ren Suo wasn't about to give up and had Young Master Mu turn over the turf here, but the prolonged investigation without results slightly affected Young Master Mu's mood. He had no choice but to reload his save, allowing Young Master Mu to end the investigation after inspecting the bloodstains.

This game once again refreshed Ren Suo's view. In other games, he made main characters loot and pillage without hesitation; things like slaughtering a village for a chicken or barbecuing in a storm of monster blood were basic operations.

But not in this game—Ren Suo had to carefully tend to the main character's mood. All things dirty and tiring were done by Maid Xiao Suo. Even in the investigative process, he couldn't let the main character turn over every blade of grass. This must be a ridiculous task for the main character, but isn't that what all main characters are supposed to do?

Then the two of them returned to Musashi's place. Lingyin breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them back. She told them that recently, due to frequent murder cases, no one in Edo was paying attention to the poison gas man—who Young Master Mu had burned to death last night and who couldn't stop talking about 'mating'—so for now, everyone was safe.

Lingyin didn't know that Young Master Mu was the Demon Lord wanted by the Six Major Factions. She felt relieved to put the murder case aside for the time being and even said with interest, "There are many hot springs around Musashi, from Owazamono to Chichibu. How about we go relax in a hot spring one day?"

Oh-ho! Is it the traditional fan service segment?

Young Master Mu asked, "Is it mixed bathing?"

Oh-ho! The main character knows the drill!

Lingyin laughed, "Very few, unless it's a small bathhouse... and even those bathhouses will often add a separate section for women. Mostly old grandmas go to the mixed baths..."

Then Lingyin and Young Master Mu discussed the hot springs topic for a while. Maid Xiao Suo stayed silent throughout, and the second day of their escape quietly passed.

Game notification: "Due to today's activities and the successful investigation at night, the Demon Lord has rested very well, and his mood is very good. However, it was only a brief rest, so only a part of the Resentment was purified. The Demon Lord's mood changed from 'Quite Pleased' to 'Quite Pleased', with 13,000 Resentment purified this turn."

The amount of Resentment purified increased by 3,000 again!

With the overall clue progress rising rapidly and the speed of Resentment purification accelerating, Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, I've been anxious because I seldom play this type of mystery-solving game, especially since there's a time limit (the number of turns is definitely not infinite).

Therefore, Ren Suo played 'Inverted World' very cautiously. Without a walkthrough, players can't just bulldoze their way through—getting stuck means getting stuck, and you'd feel like smashing the game console. Ren Suo was then left with no choice but to meticulously capture every detail, along with countless reloads of save files, aiming of course to clear the stage smoothly. He didn't want to reach the end only to have to start over because he was one turn short or missing a clue. That wouldn't just be a waste of time; for Ren Suo, it would also make it difficult to summon the enthusiasm to continue playing seriously.

The feeling that all previous saves seem meaningless can be very disheartening. Sometimes, when Ren Suo is engrossed in playing and forgets to save, and his character suddenly dies, forcing him to redo the plot, he would think, Forget it, it's so dumb to watch the plot again.

Now that two days have passed in the game, Ren Suo felt his start wasn't bad. As long as I follow the game's storyline, I should be able to clear it smoothly.

「Day 3 of Escape: Daytime」

Game notification: "Waking up early in the morning, Young Master Mu felt Endless sin and Resentment weighing on his shoulders like an immense burden, causing his mind to deteriorate rapidly. His mood shifted from 'Quite Pleased' to 'Extremely Irritable,' and he even fell into a short coma."

"Current Filth and Resentment quantity: 732,220"

"Maid Xiao Suo noticed the change in Young Master Mu and tried to Soothe him, but was driven out of the room by the Young Master."

"Because of his mood, Young Master Mu was unable to act during the day."

A series of events unfolded, and Ren Suo could do nothing. Then the game difficulty doubled!

Previously, the Filth and Resentment was only around 300,000; now it had doubled. Moreover, Young Master Mu's mood deteriorated to the extreme, even directly cancelling his daytime actions.

What happened? Ren Suo was bewildered.

Having played the game for over ten hours, Ren Suo quickly recognized its nature and immediately quit to open "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary." Several lines of blood-red ink had appeared at the bottom:

"Could it be that the mastermind Behind the Scenes has struck again, creating a catastrophe to slander the Young Master? But the Young Master has already fled to Yingzhou, sealed his martial arts, and is usually untouchable by Resentment..."

"The mastermind Behind the Scenes has created a super catastrophe comparable to an earthquake, and by using the Young Master's name, this massive Resentment was able to traverse thousands of miles and be attracted to the Young Master's Demon Lord body..."

"What should we do?"

Unexpectedly, despite the seriousness of the plot this time, Ren Suo only needed to spend 1 Merit Point for Maid Xiao Suo to devise a solution—this was practically no cost for him.

A line of bold ink appeared in the diary: "We can only ask other Seniors from the Sect to help prevent the disaster. If the disaster doesn't occur, then naturally no Resentment will befall the Young Master."

The Sect? So Young Master Mu actually has a Sect? I thought he was the solitary successor of a cursed lineage.

But soon, another line of ink emerged: "Now, the Seniors from the Sect are already Great Warriors renowned throughout the Martial World. Although they have no open ties with the Young Master, I have been diligently maintaining this relationship Behind the Scenes. Why not let them vouch for the Young Master in their own name? Perhaps it could directly intimidate the Six Major Factions into conducting a thorough investigation and restoring the Young Master's innocence!"

Ren Suo stared in astonishment. You had such powerful backing? Seniors from the Sect capable of intimidating the Six Major Factions!? And it's not just 'Seniors' but 'Great Warriors'—each one a world-deceiving bandit! If you had such powerful backing, why not flaunt it earlier and make the Six Major Factions tremble at your feet!

Ren Suo quickly clicked on this line of ink, only to find out it would cost another 5 Merit Points.

However, this seemed like it could lead to the simplest ending. Ren Suo didn't dwell on it. After spending the Krypton Gold, the ink silently changed: "Alright, I will send a carrier pigeon and pay a hefty price to have a Senior take action!"

Ren Suo quickly reloaded his save. Perhaps this time I can achieve the simplest ending, with a potential score of just 60 points. But even a baseline score of 60 isn't too shabby; at least I'll have some assurance—after all, there's a 20-day time limit to beat the game.

「Day 3 of the Escape: Daytime」

Game notification: "In the dead of night, Maid Xiao Suo paid a heavy price to inform the Seniors from the Sect to act against the impending disaster."

"Upon waking up early in the morning, Young Master Mu felt Endless sin and Resentment engulf him like a vast ocean. This caused his mind and spirit to deteriorate rapidly, his mood shifting from 'Quite Pleased' to 'Boiling with Resentment,' and he immediately fell into a deep slumber."

"Current Filth and Resentment quantity: 18,936,540"

"Maid Xiao Suo noticed the changes in Young Master Mu and went into the room to tend to him. But very soon, several Blue Armored Warriors burst through the door. Maid Xiao Suo fought to defend the Young Master. During the battle, she caught sight of Lingyin standing outside the door, looking at her with a face full of terror."

"The Blue Armored Warriors shouted, 'Die, lackey of the Demon Lord!' repeatedly inflicting Serious Injuries on Maid Xiao Suo."

"Just as Maid Xiao Suo felt like she couldn't hold on any longer, Young Master Mu awoke."

The scene turned a dark red. Ren Suo saw Young Master Mu getting up from the bed by himself, but he was unable to control him.

All the Skills in the skill bar were burning with dark red flames. The 'Resentment' bar in the top left corner emitted a dazzling purple light, and the Resentment level was still rising.

Young Master Mu looked at Maid Xiao Suo fighting bloodily before him, pushed her away, and then unleashed Skills like "Fierce Sky of Demon Flames," "Invisible Demon Sword of Armor Break," and "Earth Demon Beheading" with terrifying power. In an instant, he flipped over the entire room, annihilating all living beings within a hundred meters and destroying all structures in sight!

Only Maid Xiao Suo stood dumbfounded in her original spot, looking on, Bewildered at everything around her.

Young Master Mu glanced at her, walked over, and embraced her with a deep kiss.

Maid Xiao Suo's face grew redder with each kiss, while Young Master Mu's face grew paler. After a moment, he pushed Maid Xiao Suo away and said, "Take care and heal."

With that, Young Master Mu took a single step and charged toward the approaching army of warriors. The screen became utterly corrupted by dark red and gradually sank into murky darkness...

Game Ending: "Complete Collapse: Young Master Mu ultimately succumbed to the vortex of evil, transforming entirely into the Demon Lord and inflicting terror and Despair upon millions. He oppressed the allied forces of the Six Major Factions. Amidst the carnage, thanks to the aid of reclusive Great Warriors, swords were drawn to slay Young Master Mu, this fiend..."

After seeing this ending, Ren Suo rubbed his temples. Where did things go wrong? No, there was a problem from the start. Maid Xiao Suo had already called for the Senior from the Sect to take action, hadn't she? How come when they didn't act, it only increased the Resentment by three hundred thousand, but when they did, it added over ten million Resentment to Young Master Mu!?

Because of this ten million Resentment, Young Master Mu immediately lost his reason, his humanity burned away, and he turned into a bloodless, tearless killing machine. Although it was stronger than the previous "Helplessness" ending—where he was beaten by the Six Major Factions—in this ending, he was beating the Six Major Factions, but he was still subdued in the end.

Ren Suo opened "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary" and after spending 6 Merit Points to help Maid Xiao Suo think, he found the answer inside:

"The intervention of the Senior from the Sect seemed to have alarmed the mastermind Behind the Scenes."

"Because the Young Master's fundamental Martial Arts is the Supreme Demonic Skill that captures the Power of Sin by ravaging the world, the Six Major Factions actually hadn't made the Young Master's information public. They feared that his Cultivation would greatly increase because of this Martial Art, making him unbeatable by anyone in the world thereafter."

"Besides those who perished in the disaster, only a small number of Martial Artists who knew the inside story were aware of the Young Master's suspected identity as the Demon Lord."

"But as the Six Major Factions were about to reinvestigate the Demon Lord matter, the mastermind Behind the Scenes, fearing their own exposure, brazenly made their move. They spread the news that the Young Master was the Demon Lord who brought down the disaster, causing all the world's Resentment to converge upon him. Thus, one wrong move led to complete defeat... The Young Master could no longer reverse his path toward becoming the Demon Lord."

"The only strategy now is to operate in secret, ascertain the identity of the mastermind Behind the Scenes, cleanse the Resentment from the Young Master, and then take down the mastermind in one fell swoop. Only by presenting themselves openly before the Six Major Factions can the Young Master's grievances be cleared."

"We can only let the Senior from the Sect save people, not protect them."

Ren Suo read for a while and gradually understood the game's plot setup. The protagonist is essentially a super bomb. He doesn't want to explode, and neither do the Six Major Factions. The only one wishing for him to explode is the mastermind Behind the Scenes, though it seems they just want him on the verge of exploding. Then, because of the appearance of the Senior from the Sect, the mastermind realized their plan might be exposed and, without further ado, directly detonated the protagonist. This way, the protection offered by the Senior from the Sect naturally lost its meaning. Everyone had to work together to deal with the bomb that is the protagonist, making it impossible for the mastermind to expose themselves... This mastermind is so well-prepared that it would be unreasonable for them not to succeed—bad guys these days are indeed more professional.

Reloading for the third time, nothing happened at all this time.

Ren Suo watched Maid Xiao Suo and Young Master Mu chat in the morning and couldn't help shaking his head secretly. Young Master Mu, oh Young Master Mu, you don't know that this peaceful Daily routine of yours is actually composed of countless Miracles... I also wonder what heavy price Xiao Suo must have paid for the Senior from the Sect to take action, and how she usually maintains her relationship with the Senior...

For a time, Ren Suo let his thoughts wander.

Suddenly, his naked Cloning knocked on his shoulder, signaling that the day's housekeeping time was over. Then, pointing to the living room outside, it turned into a whiff of blue smoke and dissipated.

Ren Suo blinked, immediately remembered something, and went to the living room. He saw three sets of women's Clothing neatly ironed and placed on the sofa, including underwear.

Obviously, these Clothes aren't for me, nor for my Cloning; they're for—

Ren Suo put on "Rippling Spring Sounds," snapped his fingers, and the Truth Seeker quietly entered from the balcony.

Time was precious. They exchanged a look of tacit understanding, then the Truth Seeker took the Clothing, turned, and vanished into thin air.

Last time after summoning the Truth Seeker, she had made another request to Ren Suo for more Clothing. Ren Suo had agreed without hesitation; however, he dared not copy his friends' outfit choices again—Dong Chengling was already getting suspicious. So, he found a few popular outfits online. After all, with her good figure and attractive looks, the Truth Seeker would look great in anything. She probably wouldn't mind.

Still, these Clothes needed to be washed and ironed before they could be given to her. Ren Suo couldn't possibly hang women's Clothing up to dry, so he had no choice but to have his Cloning wash and iron them one by one. It took until today to finally get it done.

Ren Suo summoned the Truth Seeker to give her the three sets of Clothing. The task took no more than five seconds, and his Star-level remained very steady.

Even though it seemed a waste to spend precious summoning time on this, Ren Suo didn't mind at all. Never mind the Truth Seeker; I'd also try my best to fulfill the requests of other game characters. The moment they had their own thoughts, I stopped regarding them as playthings, but as friends with whom I could communicate as equals, or even as mentors lighting the path ahead. If spending a little important summoning time can maintain or even improve our relationship, I certainly won't be stingy.