Mini World Game Console-Chapter 671 - 672: Breaking the Situation and Luna Wants to Have Another Child
Terror!
Powerlessness!
The terror was that of the enemy, and the powerlessness belonged to Ren Suo.
Although he couldn't see Yisiben's eyes, and Yisiben didn't babble like other villains, Ren Suo was absolutely certain that he was a Divine Descendant Warrior with a Third-Level Divine Descendant Card Tape!
Even when compared with Los, who could react instantaneously to every move, Yisiben's combat speed was still a fraction faster than Los's—not just faster than Ren Suo's, but faster than Los's.
Though the 0.9s card selection speed caught Ren Suo off guard at first, he quickly tried his best to harness his Bond Ability, "Insight into the Mortal World," which granted him the fastest visual information intake speed, and the "The Demon King Returns"-enhanced "A Thousand Miles in a Day" stretched those 0.9 seconds into enough thinking time to arrange his attack sequence.
However, it was to no avail. Los, who should have been unbeatable with Instantaneous Offense, had all of his attacks dodged, blocked, or even used as opportunities for Yisiben to counter-kill!
Because Yisiben possessed a Third-Level Divine Descendant Card Tape, the effectiveness of skills from Los's Two-star Divine Descendant Cartridge was greatly reduced. For example, the "Two-Star Violent" skill could lock down an enemy's Spatial Movement ability and greatly slow their speed, but these effects were just a slight inconvenience to Yisiben—like he had stepped on a piece of chewing gum that had been chewed until it had lost its stickiness. It was annoying, but Los ended up in a tragic state.
Ren Suo truly hadn't expected that playing this kind of puzzle game would lead him to get stuck in such a difficult battle, with a fight frequency that even surpassed typical action games.
Ren Suo now had to use an Action Card every 0.5 seconds on average, which meant up to nine rounds of high-speed attacks could occur within 5 seconds—of course, Los usually couldn't last that long.
"Ice Encroaches Upon the Gods!"
This time upon reloading, Ren Suo equipped Los with seven ice spell enhancement Cartridges, even replacing the Divine Descendant Cartridge with a spell amplification type, and combined it with "Demon King Returns: Destroying Shadows"-enhanced "Ice Age," to form an ace enveloped by icy wind: Ice Encroaches Upon the Gods!
This was the first time Ren Suo had combined Cartridges to create an ace, rather than the game directly gifting Los with a 'Sony-exclusive' ace card due to plot necessity.
With a dance of frost linking together and ice sealing thousands of miles, Los turned the entire Temple into a frigid ice glacier, endlessly creating Frost Crystal Ice Bursts, and soon reduced the entire Temple to fluff, yet he still could not touch Yisiben!
Yisiben's Black Flame, black as his clothing, burnt away all external spells. The dragon and snake dances as he walked were actually short-range teleport movements, and Los couldn't escape or defend. In the end, he was almost always killed with a hammer blow to the head.
All of Ren Suo's painstakingly assembled flashy tricks were ultimately powerless against a single hammer.
Ren Suo had now truly realized the difference between a Two-Star God Progeny and a Three-Star Divine Descendant. Unlike fighting a Two-Star as a One-Star, confronting a Three-Star as a Two-Star really felt like a father-and-son battle, where the son could never defeat the father.
Of course, it was also possible that Yisiben was among the strongest even within the ranks of Three-Star Divine Descendants. But upon further consideration, Ren Suo realized that this Yisiben might have been a mandatory boss to beat—lone Three-Star Divine Descendants were rare, and this might have been Los's easiest opportunity to obtain a Three-Star Divine Relic Card Belt.
In a moment, Los was set to head to the final map to complete the main storyline. If he could gain the combat power of a Three-Star Divine Descendant before that, it would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty of the game considerably. Besides, Sony was probably also a Three-Star Divine Descendant combat power, and not allowing Los to possess equal strength to rightfully defeat him—was Los supposed to sneak up like an assassin to burst Sony from the rear?
After this save reload, an option to "Denounce Yisiben" appeared in the dialogue choices.
"Kerinake, Yisiben is Posecia's Grand Duke's avenger. He might have already killed the other eight Dragon Priests—"
Before Los could finish his sentence, Kerinake was obliterated by a chest-penetrating hammer blow from Yisiben, emerging from the Shadow.
Once more. This time, Los called people outside the Temple and asked Kerinake to come out for a chat. Then, after thirty seconds, the heavily armed warrior Yisiben rushed out and smashed Los to pieces.
Once more. This time, outside the Temple, Los shouted out loud that Yisiben was a traitor to Posecia's Grand Duke. Ten seconds later, Yisiben approached with a hammer to kill him for spreading rumors.
Ren Suo hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin. It felt like after Los returned to Dark Descending, Yisiben had already killed all the other Dragon Priests and hid in the Temple, staying by Kerinake's side, waiting for Los to return and then achieving a double kill.
But why was he so determined to kill Los...
This question was soon answered. After the next save reload, Ren Suo decided to have Los be a Salted Fish, just lying straight in bed.
Before long, a massive earthquake rocked Dark Descending, soon followed by explosions from all directions!
Over ten thousand Didela Warriors clad in War Armor teleported inside Dark Descending, wielding sharp blades and firearms, weaving through buildings, unleashing a bloodbath!
"Didela scum! Scum!"
"Stop fighting, long live Xides, long live the Great Lord!"
"Submit, Oathbreaker!"
Just as Los knocked out a Didela Warrior with a club and was about to switch his Identity Bracelet to take his victim's place, he suddenly heard a message:
"After all warriors have suppressed the Oathbreakers, follow General Makas to form a temporary government here. Among the Oathbreakers, there is a criminal who can alter his appearance and steal Cartridges. He might be hiding among you.
To prevent this vermin from obstructing the Empire's plans, the Empire will monitor and block the teleportation access to this area until there is conclusive proof of the criminal's death. In the worst-case scenario, the Empire needs you to stand guard here!"
"Acknowledged! The Great Lord's glory is with us!" the soldiers thundered amidst battle.
It was then that Ren Suo finally understood the true meaning of Yisiben's betrayal: Los had been thoroughly exposed.
Los's shapeshifting ability had been known only to Lydia and the nine Dragon Priests. As Kerinake's heir, Yisiben might have learned of Los's miraculous powers only in the past two days, then reported it to the Empire.
By killing nearly ten Divine Children, Los had caused an extremely negative social impact, with particularly grievous circumstances. This prompted the Empire to launch a surprise attack on Dark Descending on the eve of the invasion, even preferring to engage with a shortage of nearly ten thousand Didela Warriors than to let Los escape!
They deduced that killing Los was likely an extremely difficult task; after all, an enemy who could change faces at any moment might silently become one of their own comrades.
Even if they slaughtered all the residents of Dark Descending, if Los turned into one of their soldiers, they would still be at a loss.
So they simply blockaded Dark Descending, allowing entry but no exit, trapping Los here until the war ended.
Moreover, Ren Suo knew that once the Door of Annihilation was opened and the dimension invasion succeeded, the Sixteen Great Monarchs would begin to reset the Didra Plane, eradicate all living beings, regress the civilization of the dimension, and allow the entire dimension to flow back to the upper layers of the Azure Silver Abyss, continuing to relish their immortal dominion!
By then, Los, Dark Descending, along with the ten thousand warriors and hundreds of thousands of residents here, would be nothing but dust in history.
So, Yisiben's decision to hide in the Temple, only emerging when Los arrived to deliver the fatal, chest-bursting blow to Kerinake, might be because his duty was to assassinate Los.
After sorting out his thoughts, Ren Suo frowned.
This was a checkmate. No matter what Los did, he could not return to the Outer World under spatial blockade. Besides, Los's intended destination was the hidden Inner World of Luoyin City, which was now out of reach with Dark Descending in ruins. Where could he seek help now...?
"Suosuo."
Luna came up from behind and hugged him. Ren Suo was not surprised at all; he had developed a certain superficial resistance to this degree of intimacy from Luna.
Well, superficial resistance, meaning that he was still affected, but he could maintain the appearance of a refined yet degenerate man.
Ren Suo felt Luna's transformation time was almost up, so he turned around and boldly embraced her, allowing her to sit astride his lap. He cuddled her like a cat, even enjoyed burying his face in her soft chest—it felt great—
"Suosuo, when are we going to have kids?"
As Ren Suo was nearly smothered by her soft chest, he lifted his head, blinked, and looked at Luna with a puzzled face. "Have kids?"
"Yeah, have kids," Luna said. "I want to have many, many kids with you—"
Could she actually reproduce after transforming into a human...? Even if she could reproduce, humans can't have many, many kids; five or six would already qualify a woman as a heroine mother, right...?
Ren Suo quickly banished these idle thoughts from his mind and looked at Luna seriously. "Haven't you been eating well these days?"
"I'm eating quite well. I really like McDonald's ice cream."
"Sleeping poorly?"
"Sleeping very well. I can sleep by your side every day, hehe."
"Not having fun?"
"Having lots of fun. I can still watch live streams on the tablet when you're away, though it's a bit of a hassle."
"Then why do you want to have children?" Ren Suo asked curiously. "After you have kids, you'll have to spend a lot of time taking care of them. You can't neglect them."
Ren Suo wasn't trying to dissuade Luna, but he was also curious about her current view on procreation. And Luna had been very quiet these past few days—why did she suddenly want to have offspring today? Could it be her estrus was upon her? It is said that cats suffer greatly during estrus; to spare them the agony, they should either be spayed or satisfied. Spaying was out of the question—what you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. Since Luna had the desire to have offspring, Ren Suo of course wouldn't stop her. If that was the case, there was only one option left... But I also promised Dong Chengling, Young Master Mu, and Yueyan that I, Ren Suo, might have many faults, but keeping a promise was something I could do... So, could I only...
Ren Suo looked down at his hands, his face betraying a struggle.
But Luna didn't intend to let him light up a new skill in bed. She wrapped her arms around Ren Suo's neck and straightforwardly said, "I'm afraid of being bored."
...Huh? Have a kid because I'm bored?
"Today, when you were not home, I found watching live streams boring. Rolling around on the bed was also so boring, and even talking to a cat wasn't an option, because I'm not familiar with the cats here... But if I had cubs, I could play with them every day, talk to them, and never be bored again."
Although Luna spoke with naive romance, Ren Suo's equipped 'Desire Resonance' clearly pointed out Luna's true nature: 'afraid of Loneliness.'
Like Little Jiu, Luna is now one of those Non-human Aliens who have left their original tribe but cannot integrate into a larger group. Little Jiu is somewhat better off; she's completely transformed into human form, could gradually fit into human society, and has formed tight Bonds with people like Dong Chengling and Ren Suo.
But Luna spends 47/48 of her time as a cat, and only 1/48 as a human, so her social circle is extremely limited, and now she only has Ren Suo as her sole 'friend, relative, lover.'
Once Ren Suo is gone, she feels lonely, empty, and cold. At that point, as a living being, the way she can think of to relieve her Loneliness is to increase the number of companions she can Trust. Her own children are, of course, unquestionable companions.
Even though Luna talked about wanting kids as if she was joking, Ren Suo didn't take it lightly and used 'The Demon King Returns' combined with 'A Thousand Miles in a Day' to dig into Luna's current problems and think of solutions.
He had promised to take care of Luna for life, and it wasn't just about providing food, a bed, and sending himself away. His affection had a selfish side, such as 'permanent, exclusive possession,' and also an idealistic side, such as the Hope that everyone could become better because of him.
After careful thought, Ren Suo solemnly said to Luna, "I'm sorry, but I can't have cubs with you for now."
"Oh." Luna pouted her lips and scratched Ren Suo's chest. It didn't draw blood, which meant she wasn't throwing a small tantrum.
"The main issue is that the objective conditions don't allow it," Ren Suo explained. "I'm still human, and you're a cat most of the time, so we have to wait till you can fully become human for us to possibly have cubs."
That was indeed the main reason. Whenever Luna stimulated Ren Suo to the point where he lost his rationality and became beastly, he would remember 'she can only transform for half an hour,' and instantly, all his anger would vanish.
"However, if you are bored, why don't you... chat online?"
After much deliberation, Ren Suo still didn't dare to let Luna meet his friends and relatives right now.
First of all, Luna's True Form is that of a Divine Spirit Moon Chanter. If news of this got out even a little bit, the troubles it could cause were risks Ren Suo wasn't willing to take. And if Luna didn't meet them in her true form, but just said he'd gotten a magical cat... How would that be different from the current situation? He already had a cat! Building a good relationship with Luna requires long-term contact and can't be rushed. But chatting online was a quick way to escape Loneliness.
Ren Suo had always felt that the desire of modern men for romance was decreasing year by year, largely because they found silly net friends online who could relieve their loneliness, so their urgency for a wife dropped—they could directly retort and block a silly net friend and feel refreshed as they continued chatting with others; but if their wife mistreated them, at most, they could argue back, and they wouldn't dare to seek a chat with another woman.
However, Luna shook her head, murmuring softly in his arms, "I don't like typing. Typing with paws, it's so troublesome."
Luna had some understanding of chatting online.
"You can talk, though!"
"Talk? Voice input?" Luna shook her head again. "I also don't like reading text."
Ren Suo scratched his head. This wife of his, despite having the most extensive education and Knowledge among the people he knew, was also the most illiterate...
Then Ren Suo glanced at the tablet lying on the bed, its screen still showing the live stream. A Spiritual Light suddenly flashed in his mind. "You can chat with people online!" he said. "Like being a streamer and talking and playing games with other streamers!"
"Streamer?" Luna blinked.
「Time was up.」
The Luna in Ren Suo's arms had turned back into a Black Cat within a second.
"I think I can. MEOW."
Ren Suo looked down at the Black Cat speaking human language, unsurprised.
Compared to the Black Cat's other abilities, speaking human language was trivial. She didn't normally speak it just as Ren Suo didn't usually speak English—why would she speak a foreign language for no reason, just to show off? Besides, Ren Suo could understand her meowing, so naturally, she wouldn't train in that skill. Thus, it was the first time Ren Suo had heard the Black Cat speak human language. But Luna's voice was just like that of a little girl, so cute and adorable... Ren Suo was filled with a sense of guilt, feeling like the police would burst through the window at any second.
After saying that, the Black Cat also felt sleepy, curling into a ball and falling deeply asleep. It seemed that the discussion about streaming would have to wait until tomorrow.
Ren Suo placed her beside the pillow, tucked her in with a little blanket, turned his head, and looked at the screen of 'Light and Dark Traitor.'
Even cats can feel lonely, so what about humans? Yisiben was definitely a boss that had to be slain; he had been in Infiltration for decades, and there might be some weaknesses exposed...
Therefore, this time Ren Suo decided to have Los find Lydia to inquire about Yisiben.
"Yisiben? The heir of Kerinake, right? He has a high standing in Dark Descending. He has done basically all sorts of work related to Dark Descending, and now he's in charge of monitoring the dimensional travels of Dark Descending."
No wonder the Didra army could intrude into Dark Descending without any restraint—it turns out Yisiben was in charge of the security checkpoint.
Lydia continued, "However, I'm not very familiar with him, or rather, I haven't seen anyone who is particularly close to him. What do you want to ask?"
An idea struck Ren Suo, and he instructed Los to ask, "What about Yisiben's relatives?"
"Yisiben seems to be the adopted son of Kerinake, so his relatives would naturally be Kerinake. Oh, right, he also had a wife and daughter, but both his wife and daughter are already deceased."
He continued to ask about the situation of Yisiben's wife and daughter.
"You asked the right person," said Lydia. "I used to be friends with his daughter, Daerfen."
"Yisiben's wife died of illness, at a time when Dark Descending was quite short on supplies, and there were too few Healing-Type Card Tapes. However, at that time, Yisiben had a Healing Card Tape, but he was fighting in the rebellion with the Dragon Priests in the Outer World. By the time he received the message and rushed back, what he found was his cold daughter and the body of his wife."
"From that time on, Daerfen hated Yisiben. She told me it was her father who killed her mother—if her father hadn't gone to battle, her mother wouldn't have died."
"Subsequently, Daerfen also grew to despise Dark Descending, the Dragon Worship Cult, and the Oathbreakers," Lydia said. "She felt that battles were meaningless; she didn't understand why Dark Descending had to fight against the powerful Didra. She loved the sun and the grass, not the filthy steel and roaring steam engines."
"It seemed to happen naturally..."
Lydia shook her head. "Daerfen came of age, and Daerfen ran away."
"Betrayal is unforgivable anywhere, let alone among us Oathbreakers. Having forsaken our oaths to the Didra and the Great Lord, we value loyalty more than anyone."
"Daerfen stole a belt and Cartridges, memorized the Spatial Coordinates' secret keys, and tried to travel to the Outer World to join the Empire."
"Many people gave chase, and then, and then..."
Lydia fanned her hand as if to shoo away an imaginary fly. "Yisiben killed her."
"I'm not too clear on the details, but it seems like the Dragon Priests surrounded Daerfen, and then Yisiben might have killed his own daughter to spare her from pain, embarrassment, or for some other mess of bastard reasons."
Ren Suo contemplated for a moment and then had Los ask, "Is there a picture of Daerfen?"
Lydia looked at Los strangely, pressed a button on her belt, and pulled out a screen of water in the air, showing an image of Lydia with a blonde girl.
"There are no photographs, only memories." She stretched and looked up at the ceiling. "I have a bad feeling today."
A dialogue option suddenly popped up. After thinking, Ren Suo directed Los to reply, "Survive. Live until the moment I banish the Great Lords."
Lydia burst out laughing. "Then I really have to live a good life."
Preparations complete, Los re-entered the Temple.
But by the time he entered the Temple, Kerinake had already turned to ash and dissipated.
During the time Los talked with Lydia, Yisiben had also grown impatient.
No need for dialogue to advance the plot, perfect.
Before entering the combat state, Ren Suo immediately had Los activate "A Different Life."
Although there was no body to perform a full fusion for a substitution transformation, all Los needed was a face.
Yisiben, unusually, didn't immediately engage in an attack, but slowly walked to within five steps of Los.
His entire body was clad in heavy armor; Ren Suo couldn't make out any expression on him.
He said nothing, just quietly looked at Los.
"Grand Duke Posecia, lord of conspiracy, betrayal, and calamity," he suddenly said. "Unlike other Great Lords, Grand Duke Posecia also has a group of 'Warriors' no one knows about. These Warriors can perfectly hide themselves. Whether they worship other Great Lords or join other forces, they won't arouse any suspicion… They are natural-born betrayers."
"The heart is but iron to rust, and blood but poison to corrode. Warriors of Posecia know neither Compassion nor mercy!"
The battle began, time to play cards, 3.6s!
