Mini World Game Console-Chapter 712 - 713: Cheng Ling, I Will Attach a Demon to You

"A Different Life" can only record one Record Body, a trait of the Ability designed to protect the Player's fundamental will.

When Ren Suo chose "Kneeling before my sister for eighteen years, looking back makes being a brother difficult," it meant Sony's record had been overwritten. Consequently, he could no longer use Didra's Drive Belt and the Transcendent Cartridge, unless the Great Lord was exiled.

However, Sony Clones that Ren Suo had differentiated in advance could still use the belts and cartridges, but Ren Suo naturally wouldn't count on such a consumable item destined to be ground to dust and its ashes scattered.

He had also prepared backup cartridges and Traversal Cartridges for himself, just waiting for the Great Lord to be kicked out of the game. As long as the cartridge Energy held out, he would quickly traverse Dimensions and slip back to Earth.

He had already instructed Sony in advance to prepare commands for the Five Great War Zones. Using the name of Grand Duke Menelerus, he would require them to open the Dimensional Barriers. At that time, traversing would be possible across the entire Dimension, no longer confined to the Spider Silk Bed within the war zones.

The Five Great War Zones were now under the control of people from Grand Duke Menelerus's and Xides's factions—the two biggest thorns had been personally dealt with by Sony.

Moreover, Sony the Great was at his zenith. Backed by a powerful Great Lord and a future Great Lord, and wielding the butcher's knife and divine authority, he was still young enough to act recklessly under the guise of a spoiled child.

Throughout countless Dimensions, such powerful yet unruly children with numerous protections had always been feared by all.

Faced with Sony's "Great Monarch's Order" and "Great Edict," unless they wished for death, the commanders of the Five Great War Zones would all obey Sony's commands. Moreover, Ren Suo had tested this during his time in the Windhelm War Zone, confirming that opening the Dimensional Barrier wasn't a major issue.

Opening a Dimensional Barrier was like opening a door, and a one-way door at that, since Didra had never suffered an external invasion. The Battle Zone Commanders didn't believe opening the Dimensional Barrier would affect the Dimension's security; they even thought the Great Lords were too troublesome. These ephemeral beings, who could live at most a few hundred years, naturally couldn't understand how timid the Great Lords, who sought eternal life, truly were.

Because they couldn't see what lay beneath the Azure Silver Time-River, the Great Lords chose to halt technological progress, keeping the Didra Plane at its current level within the Azure Silver Abyss, preventing it from falling any further.

They even wished to end the world directly, hoping to return the Didra Plane to the safe upper reaches of the Azure Silver Abyss, all to maintain their eternal rule.

Under such circumstances, they would naturally exert effort to create Dimensional Barriers to prevent invasions from other Dimensions. Besides Dimensional Barriers, Didra also had its imperial system, divine descendant system, and surveillance system. Their purpose was singular: to prevent any possibility of political power being overthrown.

However, even they were about to meet their end.

"Running water does not grow stale; a door-hinge never gets worm-eaten." Entities that attempt to halt the wheels of history will either shatter the wheels or be ground into debris by them.

Royal power is never eternal.

What Ren Suo needed to do was play a slick trick before the wheel turned, but first, he had to send Dong Chengling and Ren Xingmei away.

This wasn't difficult, as Sony had orders from Xides. He could move about the Royal Court under the guise of setting up Different Dimension Coordinates.

Moreover, Sony indeed controlled sixteen royal safe houses: six inside the Royal Court and ten outside, ranging from the Second Ring to the Ninth Ring. He could summon another dozen Maids, disguise them all as markers for the Different Dimension Coordinates, and have the Divine Guards escort them into the safe houses to create a diversion.

In this process, Lorifes would pose as a Divine Guard, escorting Dong Chengling and Ren Xingmei to a truly safe place—Sony's Fourth Ring Estate.

Theoretically, regardless of Sony's previous identity, he should have been living within the Royal Court. However, Sony had surreptitiously purchased a small house in the Fourth Ring under someone else's name.

The Divine Descendant hierarchy of Luoyin City could be simply divided into the Inner Third Ring, another district also known as the Inner Third Ring, and the Outer Third Ring. The first-mentioned Inner Third Ring naturally encompassed the Royal Court, the Second Ring, and the Third Ring, all inhabited by High-Ranking Divine Descendants.

The Fourth Ring, on the other hand, belonged to Middle Layer Divine Descendants. Though the location wasn't bad, it definitely didn't match Sony's status.

However, Sony particularly enjoyed going to his Fourth Ring estate in his free time, avoiding his father's surveillance and shunning depraved activities. He would stay quietly in his room, spurting venom at people online.

He would jump around the house, creating dozens of alt accounts to spew abuse at others, flaming them until they covered their faces and logged off in defeat. When successful, he would leap for joy, completely disregarding the dignity of his princely status.

As for why he specifically bought a place in the Fourth Ring, besides offering sufficient privacy, it was also because Sony was ashamed to associate with high-ranking Divine Descendants. Interacting with those divine dregs was already exhausting enough; Sony didn't want to hear their joyous howls while he was happily engaged in his online tirades.

After arranging everything, Ren Suo pondered for a moment and gestured to Dong Chengling. "Cheng Ling, I need to talk to you alone about something."

Ren Xingmei, Sony's Clone, and Lorifes watched as the two of them entered the bedroom. Lorifes chuckled. "Although I don't know what happened, it looks to me... you're probably out of luck, Xing Mei?"

Ren Xingmei turned away, forcibly swallowing the verbal blow Lorifes had delivered.

"This is what happens when something goes wrong in the nurturing process," Lorifes continued. "People shouldn't be left to their own devices, because the human heart is unpredictable, and fate is like a knife. You need to run comparative experiments, slowly test out their psychological limits and tolerance, and then use psychological techniques to gradually twist... train... change their values and preferences. Through long-term efforts, you make them unconsciously become completely yours—"

SMACK!

Sony's Clone slapped Lorifes on the head. Lorifes yelped, covering her head in pain and looking at him in surprise. "What was that for?"

Sony's Clone remained silent, just quietly watching her.

Lorifes muttered something and then said, "Although it might be too late, I'll pass on my decades of training experience to—"

SMACK!

Hit on the head again, Lorifes tried to escape but was grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Sony's Clone. She had no choice but to sit down quietly and say nothing. This clone is actually so smart, it even knows to protect its master. I was careless.

Ren Xingmei couldn't help but let out a chuckle. She then turned her head towards the closed bedroom door, a hint of worry crossing her face.

What could my brother be saying to Dong Chengling? Is he disclosing my situation and declaring that he'll be Dong Chengling's loyal dog for the rest of his life? Or is he asking Dong Chengling to educate me? Or perhaps... Ren Xingmei's mind was a mess.

「 」

On the other side, Ren Suo was also feeling quite flustered.

"You don't feel anything at all?"

"No."

"Shall we try a different position then?"

"Okay."

Ren Suo placed his hands on the wall on either side of Dong Chengling's head, pressing her against it. His body was almost touching hers, their eyes locked, a world of emotions swirling in their gazes. It seemed as though each pupil could reflect the other's silhouette.

"Really feeling nothing?" Ren Suo asked with an expression of frustration.

"Really, there's no particular heart-fluttering sensation," Dong Chengling honestly replied.

Ren Suo returned to sit on the bed, hands interlocked in thought, contemplating how he could quickly raise his Bond Level with Dong Chengling.

Ren Suo actually had a good amount of confidence for the upcoming battle in the Platinum Tower, but he was missing the crucial last piece of the puzzle: Dong Chengling's Teleport Bond Ability, "Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart."

However, during the game, Ren Suo had already let Los use "Within Reach, Worlds Apart - Blink." This ability allowed them to overwhelm Xides with unlimited Flicker strikes within ten seconds. As a result, "Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart" had entered a 44-day cooldown period.

Now, less than twenty days after clearing the stage, "Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart" was still on cooldown. Yet Ren Suo desperately needed this Bond Ability and naturally had to find another way.

After any Bond Ability enters cooldown, the cooldown period can be reset by raising the Bond Level.

Therefore, Ren Suo planned to temporarily increase Dong Chengling's Bond Level. He had initially thought there wouldn't be any issues, since they were lovers in an intimate relationship, offering various ways to deepen their connection.

However, progress was not smooth. Dong Chengling was naturally quite aloof. Kissing and holding hands had been tried, and even a wall-pin elicited no reaction, making Ren Suo understand that there were no shortcuts to increasing Bond Levels.

Ren Suo reevaluated himself, feeling he had been too arrogant. Pinning his hopes on a last-minute effort was fundamentally a mistake. Moreover, Bond Relationships couldn't be forged overnight. His firm belief in his ability to control his relationship with Dong Chengling was, in itself, a form of a straight male Player's arrogance.

At that moment, Dong Chengling sat down beside him, curiously asking, "Why do you suddenly want me to have feelings for you?"

Ren Suo scratched his head, hesitated, and then said, "It's related to my Ability. If our relationship elevates to the next level, my Ability will become stronger."

Dong Chengling was slightly taken aback. She quietly stared at Ren Suo for several seconds before asking, "Does it have to be me? If you have a good relationship with others, will your Ability also grow stronger?"

"My Ability strengthens if I have a good relationship with any Awakener," Ren Suo honestly replied. "But right now, I especially need you."

Dong Chengling pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked about something from long ago. "Actually, I've always had a question. You've never been the type to proactively make friends, so why did you approach me initially, and even try to win my favor by treating me to meals every day?"

Ren Suo blinked, then suddenly smiled. "I'd almost forgotten about that time if you hadn't mentioned it... After all, now it's you who usually treats me to meals."

He scratched his nose, hummed thoughtfully, and said, "It's fine to tell you now... Back then, I actually knew, through a certain method, that you would Awaken sooner or later, so I wanted to observe you up close."

Dong Chengling's expression darkened. Her lips pursed tightly, and her fists clenched unconsciously.

"Well, I only intended to observe from close by, but I ended up getting myself entangled," Ren Suo said, oblivious to Dong Chengling's expression, and couldn't help but giggle at the memory. "It also led to us opening the Space Gate together and seeing the Nine-Tailed Fox, which counts as my first truly extraordinary experience."

"If I hadn't Awakened, we probably wouldn't know each other, right?" Dong Chengling said softly.

"It's unlikely we would have met," Ren Suo nodded and added, "But if you hadn't Awakened, you probably wouldn't have encountered danger and become disabled either. Plus, with your diligent Cultivation, your achievements would have been no less than they are now..."

"What disability?" Dong Chengling asked, taken aback.

"You know, during your Awakening, you were paralyzed and unable to move, right?"

Ren Suo scratched his head. "My method... its effect is similar to seeing images of the future. Back then, I saw a future you in a wheelchair, so I wondered if I could change that future before you encountered danger. I thought it might just require something simple, like pulling you back while you were crossing the road. I never expected I'd have to share the risk of your Awakening..."

Dong Chengling's first Awakening was extremely perilous. A slight mistake could have led to her being sliced by spatial turbulence. Even with Ren Suo's help, it was a close call. In the end, their hands remained joined until they reached the Sky Capital Underground Base to resolve the issue.

Ren Suo turned and saw the strange expression on Dong Chengling's face, then belatedly said, "You... did you think I intentionally got close to you just because you're an Awakener?"

Dong Chengling blinked and nodded. "Not just me, but Yue Yan, Xiao Qiao, Bai Ji, and the others..."

After some thought, Ren Suo said, "You're not entirely wrong. With people like Li Dan and Yu Kuangtu, I did, more or less, intentionally seek them out, and your situations were similar. But..."

"This Ability merely gave me a reason to initiate contact with all of you. Everything that happened afterward was my own choice. Besides, when I first met you, I hadn't even discovered this Ability yet!"

If I had the Bond System back then, why would I have bothered with Zhao Huo? I would have spent all my time finding Awakeners and building relationships with them.

Hearing Ren Suo say this, Dong Chengling felt a sense of relief. In fact, she had just been a little emotional earlier. After all, she had always believed Ren Suo approached her because he genuinely liked her as a person. Suddenly hearing that Ren Suo had also considered factors of benefit naturally made her a bit unhappy.

But on second thought, Ren Suo hadn't known her well back then. Even if he had genuinely liked her, it would have likely been for her appearance. Was such a motive truly nobler than one aimed at her Awakening Technique?

Dong Chengling was a realist who didn't believe in 'love at first sight.' Since that was impossible, initial interactions would naturally involve other motives.

Moreover, Ren Suo's motives also included the goodwill of wanting to save her. Dong Chengling would never forget the chaotic terror she faced during her first Awakening. If not for Ren Suo, she might have genuinely considered severing a limb to stop the Awakening process.

His motive contained a trace of goodwill. Did this small difference truly matter?

Dong Chengling believed it mattered a great deal.

It's precisely these small distinctions that allow humans to experience greater happiness and deeper sorrow than other animals.

Dong Chengling composed herself, looked at Ren Suo who was pondering, and asked after a moment, "Do you really need to elevate our relationship to another level?"

"Hmm... But these things can't be forced; there are no shortcuts. Let me think if there are other solutions."

Ren Suo patted his face, gathered his spirits, and stood up, ready to leave.

However, at that moment, Dong Chengling pulled him back onto the bed.

Dong Chengling bit her lip, her gaze drifting slightly, avoiding Ren Suo's eyes. She said softly, "Actually... there might be a shortcut."

"A shortcut? But relationships need years of interaction to truly deepen," Ren Suo said, scratching his head. "I must have miscalculated. Cheng Ling, don't worry about it. I'll figure something out—"

"No."

"The Spiritual Energy concentration in Luoyin City is so high that the Divine Light Crystal has already fully charged. Cheng Ling, I'll give you a demonic enchantment!"