CHAPTER 280: CHAPTER 280: TEN THOUSAND TIMES STRONGER THAN HIS TRUE FORM

On the tenth day in the game, Ren Suo noticed that the duration of the game that day was much shorter than on other days. Moreover, during a period when a bug should have occurred, the game eerily fast-forwarded through a segment, which he naturally noticed. At that time, he knew that a special situation had occurred in the game that he couldn’t have known about. His initial guess was that the bug occurred because the game foresaw him becoming a customer at the Ghost Stall, so it directly deleted that section of the game to prevent a paradox. Because if Ren Suo knew the complete process of his dining, would he still act as the game displayed? And if he did not act as the game displayed, would the game’s mission evaluation upload fail? Ren Suo came to this conclusion mainly because the game never revealed specific dates, giving him a vague feeling that the Mini-World Game Console was very afraid of him joining the game.

Ren Suo had already cleared eight games and successfully observed a game process in his True Form once ("Mage Under the World Tree"). Although on the surface he was a well-behaved, honest Player who consistently spent Krypton Gold, he was actually a little smug— He thought he was close to figuring out the truth about the Mini-World Game Console. He thought the Mini-World Game Console had fast-forwarded part of the game process because it didn’t want to reveal more information to him. He thought that in this game of wits, he was going to be the victor.

But now, Ren Suo finally understood that this world was far more complex than he had imagined. The truth, hidden like a tangled ball of yarn, was far more complex than he had imagined. Ren Suo had only grasped the end of the thread, but instead of unraveling the skein to gain insight into its secrets, he was being pulled in by that very thread, becoming part of the secret himself.

The Pure White Mini Holy Grail made Ren Suo feel as if he were burning like a torch, akin to a pile of soaked, silent firewood in some dark corner of his heart. All his life, he had neither noticed nor realized the existence of this pile of firewood. They were as insignificant as a virgin’s chastity—always soaking wet, unignitable, unburnable, no different from useless wood. But under the activation of the Holy Grail, they ignited, completely illuminating Ren Suo’s body. This Light and Heat, due to the nature of Ren Suo’s body, didn’t leak out at all. Therefore, the Mark of the Holy Grail that ignited them became the only channel.

Ren Suo could distinctly feel the Light and Heat filling his body, flowing out like silk through the Mark of the Holy Grail. Though there were no strange visual phenomena, his innate perception and the changes in his body made it crystal clear to him: he was splitting apart. The other part, through the transmission between Holy Grails, was falling into the female shop owner who held the Holy Grail! And the world before him, Ren Suo’s own vision, slowly blurred, while the female shop owner’s vision grew increasingly clear.

As Ren Suo’s own vision almost disappeared, he felt a surge of blood energy in his body, like tidal waves. His consciousness seemed to extend countless tentacles, and numerous inexplicable forces appeared as close as nearby stars, ready to be plucked with a mere thought! It seemed like... he had completely transformed into the female shop owner!

This process sounded complex, but it actually took only a brief second; Ren Suo didn’t even have time to take off the Pure White Mini Holy Grail. As Light and Heat continuously flowed into the female shop owner, Ren Suo felt his True Form growing colder; or rather, he almost couldn’t feel his True Form anymore. It seemed that as the Light and Heat flowed away, he himself had completely moved from his True Form into the body of the beautiful girl he had created! He could only watch helplessly as the torch that filled him completely moved into the female shop owner. Although he had no information, Ren Suo was keenly aware that if the torch became completely disconnected from his True Form, something irreversible would likely happen. For example, from then on, he would become *her*. He wanted to stop the process, but Ren Suo had absolutely no idea what he could do!

Just as the last trace of flame in his True Form was about to extinguish, Ren Suo suddenly felt two slight pulls, forcibly keeping the final embers within his True Form!

He could no longer see through his True Form’s vision. Ren Suo saw himself inside the Ghost Stall, his slender, pale right hand holding a glass of spirits. Feeling the warmth emanating from it, he wanted to throw it away immediately, but his movement abruptly froze. The Pure White Mini Holy Grail was an important link to his True Form; if Ren Suo wanted to return to his True Form, he had to rely on the channel provided by the Mini Holy Grail! But what exactly had happened? Why had he suddenly turned into the female shop owner?

He looked up and saw his True Form slumping softly to the ground. Fortunately, it was right beside a tree, so his True Form simply lay down, leaning against it. Ren Suo tried to control his True Form, but found it was completely useless. He could only perceive faint sensations from his True Form, along with the two threads that held onto its last embers.

"What’s taking so long?!" The Black customer slammed his hand on the table, his vulgar gaze sweeping over Ren Suo’s entire body. That look, as if it could strip a person bare, made Ren Suo feel extremely uncomfortable, both physically and psychologically. "I’ve been waiting for a long time!"

Ren Suo grew angry. He remembered this customer was the Half-Demon who hadn’t provided the keywords and had also committed all sorts of villainy. Ren Suo spotted a steak in front of him. He noticed it appeared unseasoned. He yanked open the seasoning drawer, grabbed eight bottles with both hands, and frantically emptied them onto the steak before handing it over.

The customer took one bite, and his face turned green. But he couldn’t stop eating; he had to finish it all. Then, foaming at the mouth, his clothes burst apart, and black mist swirled around him.

Ren Suo knew what he had to do. He was filled with rage and frustration, and the Force within him felt like it was about to burst forth. As he stepped out, he saw Red Armor had already drawn his sword—Red Armor had been sitting next to the Ghost Stall all along, and Ren Suo hadn’t even noticed him. Red Armor looked much like he did in the game: same red armor, white helmet, resembling a spectral general yet exuding a righteous aura.

"Don’t make a move. Let me handle this!" Ren Suo said.

Red Armor obediently sheathed his sword. The customer, shrouded in black mist, clenched his fists, let out a couple of sinister chuckles, and charged at Ren Suo like a bull. Ren Suo tapped into the Force within him, finding only two Abilities in his mind:

"Mysterious Sovereign’s Secret Record Chapter One"

"Flame Overlord"

His apron fluttered as if by an unseen wind. Ren Suo took a slight step back and adopted a stance. As the customer charged, he suddenly felt his body become incredibly nimble, and the whole world seemed to slow down by three or four times. Without hesitation, Ren Suo lunged into the customer’s guard. His right fist ignited with Fiery Flames, striking upwards violently—

Fiery Rising Dragon Fist!

A thunderclap echoed out of nowhere. The flames from his fist blossomed like fireworks, and the Fiery Flame, like a serpent, burrowed into the customer’s body, considerately blasting apart his remaining underwear. Although the punch had targeted the jaw, the customer suddenly began to bleed from all seven orifices, and various negative statuses that Ren Suo couldn’t discern erupted within him. Only when the customer lay limply on the ground did Ren Suo exit the state of slowed time—clearly an effect brought about by "48-year-old Xiao Qiang."

He walked over and kicked the customer’s face. "Get up, don’t play dead. Want another round?"

Although Ren Suo had struck in anger, he noticed that part of the attack’s output had been reabsorbed into his body just before it fully unleashed. The resulting effect was just enough to injure but not kill the opponent, though the visual display was certainly spectacular. The customer hurriedly scrambled up. At that moment, Ren Suo wondered if he had hit too hard, as all the customer’s clothes had been shattered, causing something rather eye-watering to swing about as he stood. But, not wanting to lose face even if he’d lost the fight, Ren Suo glanced disdainfully and remarked, "Pretty small, huh."

The Black customer’s blood boiled, but the difference in their martial strength was glaringly obvious. Moreover, that punch had completely shattered his ferocity and will to fight. He timidly covered his vitals, then took off his earring and handed it to Ren Suo. Ren Suo took it, and a stream of information flowed into his mind.

"Small Earring: A typical earring, Life Value +50."

This thing is too useless, Ren Suo thought, glaring menacingly at the customer. The customer grimaced and said, "All my good stuff was burned up by you."

That’s true, Ren Suo thought, and allowed him to leave.

He looked down at his own tender, smooth hands, the flawless skin, and the immense, endlessly surging and circulating Qi Cyclone within his body. Moreover, in his perception, the entire world seemed like fuel; he could ignite it into a great conflagration at any moment. He was very strong. The female shop owner character only had two stats: Life Value and Attack Power. However, after equipping "Mysterious Sovereign’s Secret Records" and "Flame Overlord," when these two stats manifested in reality, they transformed into Energy that was fully infused into these two Abilities, Strengthening them almost without limit! Not to mention the various gifts from customers. Just "48-year-old Xiao Qiang" alone gave Ren Suo a huge advantage, and there were also other Attack-enhancing gifts like the "Ice-cold Engagement Ring" and the "Golden Ring of Revenge."

After a brief estimation, Ren Suo felt that this game character of his was probably... about ten thousand times stronger than his True Form.