CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: I’M EVEN WORSE THAN A PANGOLIN (SECOND UPDATE)

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Why did the deities speak Mandarin?

Ren Suo recalled that the Lord of Billion Brilliance, the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow, and the Eternal Burning Heart had indeed been speaking Mandarin in the videos!

However, since he had heard Mandarin while playing games before, he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Only when the researchers on these forums pointed it out did he realize how absurd the situation was.

Moreover, these deities didn’t look like native Taoist deities, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or the Three Immortals of the Mysterious Country. Their names, instead, resembled those from Western divine systems or the unfathomable Cthulhu mythos.

Upon opening this post, Ren Suo found the discussants were quite serious. There was none of the usual forum banter like ’first post,’ ’front row,’ or ’those who seek reality in a fantasy world must have issues.’ Instead, they proposed various hypotheses.

"The deities might have been Mysterious Country cultivators from the past, perhaps even Ren Family Cultivators."

This Level 2 Researcher not only had a rich imagination but also knew how to ride on trending topics.

"Ren Naiser previously released so many real videos. Maybe this video was his actual goal: to deceive us into believing in the existence of gods. However, deities speaking any language seems ’strange.’ A true deity should be known without speech. Ren Naiser couldn’t achieve this, which is why such a loophole arose."

This Level 3 Researcher spoke quite sensibly and earned the approval of many. Next to each comment were options for ’agree,’ ’disagree,’ and ’not helpful.’ This researcher’s comment garnered 35 likes.

"One who does not plan for the whole will not be fit to plan for one part. Assuming Ren Naiser’s videos are fake is fine, but what if they are real? We should analyze the videos he posted.

What is the purpose of ’Assassin’? It marks the beginning, signifying the existence of mysterious forces in this world.

What about ’If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters’? It revealed a new, extremely dangerous method of Awakening. Yet, it paved a path for the masses.

Regarding ’Over My Dead Body,’ I dare not assert anything definitively because it hasn’t finished broadcasting. However, this drama has already shown us the demeanor of common Demons and Ghosts, and its hidden Magic System is a crucial resource. Also, ’******* (unviewable by researchers below Level 3).’

Then, what about ’Jedi Priest: The Prequel’? Have you noticed that characters in the first three works, once mentioned, do not appear again? Ancient Ren Family Cultivators certainly can’t be resurrecting, can they? And the assassin vanishes, the ’strong’ ascend to immortality.

In ’Jedi Priest,’ however, Ren Naiser conducts a prize competition. Don’t be blinded by the draw; this reveals significant information. It signals Ren Naiser’s intent to publicize their existence, effectively announcing the ’Ren Naiser’ group! And those Mandarin-speaking deities will be the puppets Ren Naiser puts in the spotlight!

The reason they speak Mandarin might well be that their first target is to take over our Mysterious Country!"

This statement by a Level 4 Researcher received 754 likes. Given the forum’s secrecy and threshold, there weren’t many researchers. Obtaining so many likes suggested the majority agreed with this opinion.

However, Ren Suo, watching this seriously written statement, didn’t quite know how to explain.

The order of these games was just randomly chosen by me... To deduce any purpose and patterns from this would be absurd because it’s related to ’free,’ ’discount,’ and ’I didn’t even know what I was thinking at the time.’

However, if Ren Suo were to tell the truth here, not only would nobody believe him, but his response would likely be met with ’disagree’ + ’not helpful’ and simply collapsed.

Ren Suo thought about the issue, realizing it was indeed his fault.

Ren Suo didn’t believe the three deities only spoke Mandarin. His game character, Zhao Zili, heard only Mandarin. Trial Participants from other countries naturally heard their own languages. Mandarin isn’t a universal language; how would they participate in the trials if they didn’t understand it? When Ren Naiser edited the footage, they probably just selected the version Ren Suo played and uploaded it, omitting other language versions, which caused this misunderstanding.

Of course, this truth couldn’t be told. So, Ren Suo liked the Level 4 Researcher’s statement, then exited to create a Word document, preparing to fabricate a few excuses to feed to Yu Kuangtu.

Anyway, whether Yu Kuangtu believed it or not didn’t matter. Afterward, it would be proven that Ren Suo was right. However, he couldn’t just hand over No.98 Zhao Zili directly. So, Ren Suo found two other candidates, describing them with adjectives like ’wise and brave,’ ’brave and resolute,’ and ’strong luck.’

Choosing 3 out of 156, and one of them is the victor. Isn’t that analytical capability strong enough?

By the time Ren Suo finished fabricating the story, it was almost 2 p.m. He planned to send it at 11 p.m. to avoid Yu Kuangtu thinking he hadn’t put much effort into it.

Now it was time to test the controllable Spiritual Energy aggregation device here.

He stepped out of the bedroom and saw a strange button on the living room wall, with an electronic display above it: "Spiritual Energy: 2.3."

Ren Suo pressed the button. After about ten seconds, it changed to "Spiritual Energy: 18.9," and an open area of the living room floor lit up with white light.

This was the controllable Spiritual Energy aggregation device. The government had insisted on installing it, even delaying the start of the school semester by a week, to allow teachers and students to cultivate in high Spiritual Energy environments right in their dormitories.

Then he pulled a very peculiar item from his suitcase.

It was a rare item he had bought at Jian Ji Noodle Shop for sixty yuan—a lamp base claimed to be thirty years old!

Ren Suo held it, activated ’Unlimited Energy,’ and began cultivating in the lotus position, holding the lamp in both hands over the glowing area. However, after three hours of this, he had to admit...

It had no effect at all.

It seems that absorbing Spiritual Energy from old objects is an ability only animals in the game possess, Ren Suo scratched his head. But speaking of old objects, the oldest has to be that Goddess Jade Pendant, though it’s not a physical object...

When equipping the Goddess Jade Pendant, although Ren Suo did not actually wear it, its ability was already active, causing a tattoo-like mark resembling the pendant to appear somewhere on his body.

This was extremely convenient. But after discovering the Dharma of evolving by devouring Spiritual Energy in ’Devouring the Spirit of the World,’ Ren Suo couldn’t bring himself to focus on the powerful props produced by the game console.

However, this controllable Spiritual Energy aggregation device was quite good. Although it couldn’t compare to a Cultivation Ground, it was already enough for Ren Suo.

But this controllable Spiritual Energy aggregation device was metered, so Ren Suo promptly shut it off after he finished cultivating. The device itself was free, but the monthly usage allowance was fixed. To get the best value, it had to be used for Cultivation during times of peak mental alertness.

If only I could evolve by devouring, like in the game, Ren Suo couldn’t help but lament.

If everyone cultivated in the same manner, Ren Suo wouldn’t have felt this way. But seeing how the Pangolins in the game cultivated with an almost predatory intensity every day, the difference was vast. Even he couldn’t help but feel deeply moved—

I’m even worse than a Pangolin!