Mini World Game Console-Chapter 760 - 761 United in Vengeance

Four days ago, Ren Suo had secluded himself for cultivation and hadn't emerged since.

On the fifth day, a conflict erupted between Ren Suo's "girlfriend" and "boyfriend."

That evening, after Bai Ji finished dinner and was walking by, he glanced up at the fourth floor of Dormitory Building 2. He noticed that the curtains of Unit 402 were still drawn tight, blocking all light.

He narrowed his eyes, a trace of dissatisfaction on his handsome, fair face. Looking around and seeing no one, he leaped, ice forming under his feet, and landed on the balcony of Dong Chengling's apartment.

The first person he saw was Qiao Muyi, dressed in a tactical vest. He quickly walked in, stood before her, and asked coldly, "What exactly happened?"

"This is my first time here in days too. You're asking me?" Qiao Muyi showed him no courtesy at all, retorting, "So, are you also going to ask me how to treat your facial paralysis, constipation, and urinary incontinence?"

Ever since Ren Suo announced his seclusion, Qiao Muyi hadn't come to Dong Chengling's place for meals. After all, she was a woman with a cat and needed to spend time with her chubby orange tabby at home.

Her temperament was different from the others; she didn't particularly enjoy eating with large groups. Having already savored the fragrance of freedom in solitude, she simply wanted to share meals with Ren Suo.

A flicker of pain crossed Bai Ji's face as he said gravely, "Ren Suo hasn't played games, chatted in groups, answered calls, or gone out for meals these past few days. He didn't even react when the entire campus network went down for half an hour earlier. Don't you understand what's going on?"

Qiao Muyi was slightly taken aback. "Is it that serious?"

Gu Yueyan looked somewhat bewildered. Although she was also very concerned about Ren Suo, it was still too difficult for a diligent and self-disciplined girl like her to comprehend Ren Suo's worldview. "Is it... really that serious?" she asked.

"Class President," Lin Xianyu said, patting Gu Yueyan on her ample chest seriously, "let me put it this way. It's like you raised a cat, and then one day, that cat..."

"It stopped eating cat food?"

"No, it stopped breathing."

"That serious?" Gu Yueyan immediately grasped the importance of 'gaming, group chats, and the internet' to Ren Suo. She nodded, then shook her head. "But he's in seclusion. Of course, he won't be disturbed by external matters."

Qiao Muyi shook her head. "Seclusion isn't as mysterious as you think. We're still mortals, after all. At most, we give up entertainment to focus entirely on cultivation, but we still need normal food and communication. This isn't the olden days when you could find a cave and meditate until you died. When I'm in seclusion, I still check messages and handle things before bed."

Ren Suo was in seclusion, so Qiao Muyi hadn't been having her regular chats with him. That's why she now felt something was a bit off. Ren Suo used to love sending an emoji and then vanishing, as if to say, I don't know what to talk about, but I'm thinking of you. Now, there weren't even any emojis.

Little Jiu, rubbing the Black Cat, also chimed in, "Big Brother isn't playing games or going online. Something big must have happened!"

Dong Chengling nodded slightly, and Ren Xingmei added more directly, "If he hadn't shouted 'Do not disturb me!' from inside when I tried to visit, I'd have thought he'd been kidnapped by the Fairy Palace people again."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Based on their understanding of Ren Suo, unless he had gone to a place without Wi-Fi or internet access, it was hard to explain how he could live like a caveman for several days in modern society.

Moreover, Ren Suo was a repeat offender. Last month, he went on a trip to Didra with Dong Chengling and Ren Xingmei. Last year, he went on a honeymoon to the Mask of the Moon with Gu Yueyan and Luna. If he went off to meet new girlfriends this month, it would seem like a perfectly normal, everyday occurrence. They wouldn't even be surprised.

Could this be Ren Suo's exclusive 'period'?

"So," Bai Ji said, staring at Qiao Muyi, "his sudden seclusion must be because of you all, right?"

Dong Chengling blinked. Qiao Muyi retorted indignantly, "How could it be our fault? If it were our fault, Xiao Suo wouldn't be cultivating alone! There'd be at least two of us!"

"Aside from you all causing him to withdraw, what other reasons could there be?" Bai Ji said, counting on his fingers. "Work? Money? Entertainment? The only thing that troubles him is relationships."

Qiao Muyi's tone wavered slightly. "Avoidance... is it? That does sound like him."

Qiao Muyi exchanged glances with the others, who nodded silently. They recalled their recent, escalating demands on Ren Suo.

They were, of course, not at fault; their demands were reasonable and legitimate. Even if there was fault, it lay with Ren Suo. But the world is an interesting place; sometimes, the debtors act like the masters.

Bai Ji's words sparked a thought in their minds: Could Ren Suo be thinking of... defaulting? After all, the only capital he had to repay with was himself. If it wasn't repaid to *me*, then it would be considered a default.

Bai Ji said seriously, "It's human nature to put off unsolvable problems until they either disappear on their own, or until the problems effectively 'solve' the person involved..."

"Pressuring him like this will eventually make him rebellious. This self-destructive form of secluded cultivation, without games or online chats, is a precursor."

"However, it's not a major issue," Bai Ji said, looking at them. "When Ren Suo finishes his seclusion, if he still hasn't given you an answer, perhaps you should all take some time to cool down and think. Otherwise, if he resorts to another long period of such self-destructive seclusion..."

Everyone nodded silently, feeling that Bai Ji had a point.

After all, Ren Suo cultivating in seclusion without gaming or going online was indeed rather alarming.

Seeing this, Bai Ji felt more certain.

If he could persuade these few, his plan was more than halfway to success.

He had known for a long time that the relationship between Ren Suo and these women would eventually crumble. So, Bai Ji had waited patiently, waited, and finally, this day had come.

He hadn't lost yet!

As long as Ren Suo was willing to use that Transformation Spell, or teach him that Transformation Spell, there was still a chance!

What he needed to do now was to dutifully fulfill his role as a friend, without arousing the suspicion of these women, and further deepen his relationships!

So Bai Ji continued, "I'll find a way to soothe him and prevent him from becoming extreme or radical. You can all rest assured..."

"Hold on, what does this have to do with you?" Qiao Muyi interrupted. "Didn't you tell me before that you'd given up?"

"Yes, yes," Bai Ji sighed, feigning melancholy. "He's someone I was fated to meet but not to keep, fated to encounter but not to possess... The way I see it, unless one of us were to become a girl, I don't stand a chance."

"So, Qiao Muyi, you can rest easy. Besides, didn't you invite me here hoping I, as a friend, could probe Ren Suo's state of mind for you?"

Qiao Muyi looked at Bai Ji skeptically, but what he said did make sense. After all, even if Bai Ji were willing, Ren Suo wasn't. Unless Bai Ji transformed into a beautiful girl, then there might be a sliver of a chance...

But she still intended to refuse. Who knew if Bai Ji might succumb to his primal urges, freeze Ren Suo into an icicle, and then engage in some shocking amour de glace...

"Um, Teacher Bai," Lin Xianyu interjected cautiously. "Actually, we didn't invite you here to gather information. And Sister Qiao, our invitation to you this time wasn't about Big Brother Ren either... well, not directly. It was to discuss another matter."

"What matter?" Bai Ji and Qiao Muyi asked simultaneously.

Lin Xianyu explained, "It's like this. A few days ago, a girl with the online alias 'Xiao Ren' added me, the class president, Little Star, and Teacher Dong on WeChat. She said she really likes Big Brother Ren..."

Lin Xianyu briefly explained Xiao Ren's situation, adding, "She confessed to Big Brother Ren two days ago and was rejected."

"Hmph! At least he knows to observe conjugal fidelity," Qiao Muyi snorted.

"But Xiao Ren didn't give up," Lin Xianyu continued. "She told me today that she finally managed to arrange a date with Big Brother Ren."

"But Ren Suo is in seclusion," Bai Ji pointed out.

"That's what I asked her," Lin Xianyu replied. "Xiao Ren said that if Big Brother Ren doesn't go on a date with her, she'll self-harm."

Qiao Muyi instantly blurted out, "What does that have to do with us?! Threatening self-harm? Does she think everyone else is her parents?"

Dong Chengling said, "Xiao Qiao, she's just an eighteen-year-old girl. You can't expect her to have a heart as strong as yours."

Qiao Muyi tutted. "But Xiao Suo has no connection to her. Why should he indulge such a demand?"

"But we are educators," Bai Ji sighed softly.

Ren Xingmei continued, "So my brother agreed to Xiao Ren's request. He's willing to go on a date with her tomorrow, hoping to guide her in person towards a correct understanding of love."

As Ren Xingmei said this, even she found it strange: Ren Suo helping someone else establish a correct view of love...

"Tomorrow?" Qiao Muyi raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"Noon," Ren Xingmei replied.

"Xiao Suo is coming out of seclusion?"

"He's making an exception for one day," Ren Xingmei clarified.

Qiao Muyi snorted, took out her phone, and tapped it a few times. Then she said, "I'll have Yao Fei and Li Dan cover my shift tomorrow. Yu Kuangtu is away on business, so it's a hassle for me to even ask for leave... Xianyu, tell me their date location. I'll go personally to help 'shape' her worldview."

"And give me her WeChat ID. I'll find out her real identity..."

"Sister Qiao, that might not be a good idea," Lin Xianyu said.

"Actually, I already warned Xiao Ren. I told her Big Brother Ren has a beautiful, cute, gentle, considerate, and extremely powerful girlfriend. But Xiao Ren didn't care at all. She even said something like, 'If his girlfriend kills me, he'll remember me for the rest of his life, won't he?'..."

Dong Chengling added, "Xiao Qiao, it's better to let Suo handle this himself. If we show up suddenly, it will only complicate matters."

Qiao Muyi pressed, "But finding out her real identity should still be possible, right? Give me the student roster. Even if I can't get social media platforms to release her personal info, I can have my subordinates go through the student list one by one..."

"They're meeting tomorrow. You won't be able to find her in a single day," Dong Chengling said. "We invited you, Bai Ji, over today to ask if you had any impression of this girl. After all, I'm not very familiar with the students, but you know them well, don't you?"

So, besides being a chauffeur, I'm also a walking student directory? Bai Ji thought.

However, Bai Ji had no complaints and asked, "'Xiao Ren' is likely an alias, right? Is there any other information? Like her WeChat Moments?"

"Her Moments are set to private for us," Ren Xingmei said, shaking her head.

Lin Xianyu hesitated, then said, "After I learned about her intentions, I tried to dissuade her by analyzing it from various angles, but her responses were all very resolute."

"For example, I told her Big Brother Ren already has a girlfriend, so her actions would make her The Third Party. She said that was fine; she'd rather face condemnation than live with regrets."

Qiao Muyi tutted. "Heavens, how can someone be so shameless."

Lin Xianyu's mouth twitched as she continued, "Then I told her that Big Brother Ren is essentially a faculty member at the academy, and she's a student. A teacher-student romance like that would create a terrible scandal if it got out. She said that was fine; true love shouldn't be abandoned because of societal conventions."

Gu Yueyan shook her head. "Alas, to be wrong and not even realize it. How pitiful."

Lin Xianyu's facial muscles were practically twitching. She forced herself to continue, "I also asked her what she would do if Big Brother Ren ultimately refused to accept her. Xiao Ren said she would first treat Big Brother Ren as an older brother, then gradually get closer, looking for an opportunity to make things a fait accompli..."

Ren Xingmei stamped her foot forcefully. "How utterly shameless!"

Lin Xianyu could barely contain herself, her voice trembling as she said, "I told Xiao Ren that Big Brother Ren is actually a man incapable of looking after himself or others, and that she would have a very hard time. Xiao Ren said that was fine; she could take care of Ren Suo's daily needs, even live with him if necessary. She said she would support Big Brother Ren."

"Devotion directed at the wrong place is also a kind of transgression," Dong Chengling sighed.

Lin Xianyu's facial muscles were nearly cramping. She said, almost through gritted teeth, "I even told Xiao Ren that Big Brother Ren is actually very promiscuous. I asked what she would do if he were dating several girls simultaneously but still didn't want to let her go. Xiao Ren said she wouldn't mind, since she couldn't defeat Big Brother Ren anyway. As long as she could be with Big Brother Ren, that was all that mattered..."

"MEOW~" the Black Cat purred lazily.

PFFT!

Lin Xianyu clapped a hand over her mouth with lightning speed, making odd sputtering noises as she dashed to the restroom.

Gu Yueyan said, bewildered, "Did she eat something bad? No, that can't be right. Xianyu only had some pineapple and mango today, and after dinner, just a large cup of ice cream. That's a completely normal amount for her..."

Dong Chengling looked at Bai Ji. "Do you know any girl like that?"

Bai Ji immediately shook his head. "No, I don't know anyone who would willingly be The Third Party, engage in a teacher-student romance, pursue a sibling-like romance, financially support a man, and not mind sharing her boyfriend."

"I don't know anyone like that either."

"Yes, and using self-harm to threaten people."

"She really needs to be taught a lesson."

Just then, Lin Xianyu finally emerged from the restroom, having managed to stifle her laughter. Her expression serious, she said, "If we use ACG terms, Xiao Ren would be classified as a 'Yandere' type: a girl obsessed with someone to the point of sacrificing everything, including herself."

Everyone sighed in unison. "To think such women actually exist in this world."

Lin Xianyu glanced at them and asked, "So, about their date tomorrow...?"

A glint appeared in everyone's eyes.

Witnessing this bizarre, ever-shifting scene before her, Lin Xianyu couldn't help but feel a peculiar sense of wonder.

In this very room,

On a similar night,

Only a little over ten days ago, these rivals—who should have been at each other's throats, viewing one another with hostility, and engaging in clandestine struggles—had, in this moment, suddenly found common cause against an external foe.

...

...

Finally found a way to suppress Yu Kuangtu... Hmm?

Having returned from the fourth trial within the Door of Truth, Ren Suo was checking the "interest" accrued in his Truth Bank when he discovered that many of the stored emotions had significantly appreciated in value, and by no small margin.

Plan C is proceeding smoothly, Ren Suo thought, nodding reflectively before continuing with the fourth trial.