Chapter 48: Chapter 48 – Why Did You Mess With Cao Cao Alone…
Xuzhou City, Autumn, Year 193.
Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan were in the midst of a battle with more than 80 Ghost Troops. The ‘run-hit-run’ strategy was still being used, but this time, however, there were also Archer Ghosts with a ranged attack and Cavalry Ghosts who had extraordinarily fast movement speeds. It was a slightly challenging battle.
As the game progressed, the enemies also became stronger. Although there were still enemies with an Attack of 1 and Defense of 0, there were many more enemies with Attack 2 and Defense 1 after the year 194.
With the increase in combat power of the enemies, the amount of Reiki crystals earned from defeating them naturally increased correspondingly. After each season of the expedition, Ren Suo could earn more than 200 Reiki crystals in the game.
However, earning more was not remarkable; rather, being able to spend them fast was the real test of skill. Ever since Ren Xiaobai was born and the earth elf from Taibai Plains went into hibernation, the Ren family had yet to find another elf whom they could perform spiritual exchange with.
It was 3:00 in the wee hours of the morning, and Ren Suo was becoming slightly dazed from spending numerous hours on the game when he accidentally selected the [Scout] option as he was deciding on the training domains for the season.
The [Training] selection process worked in such a way that, unless all of the action points were used on the one single domain, each character would train on one random training domain according to the distribution of the action points. For example, when Ren Suo allocated 2 action points to Attack and 1 action point to Scout, there was an equal chance that Ren Woxing or either of the other two brothers would then train on the Scout domain.
As such, there was no way for Ren Suo to control which domain each character would be trained on unless he trained everyone only in the one same domain each time.
Ren Suo had always wanted Ren Feifan to gain +1 Management point so that he could remain at home while Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng were sent out on a long-distance DPS expedition to secure a round of kills.
However, in reality, the Management attribute score of Ren Changsheng continued to increase, while that of Ren Feifan remained at 0, and the difference was as if that between a top student and another who was at the bottom of the list.
After Ren Suo accidentally chose the Scout option, Ren Woxing gained a +1.3 Scout attribute score. In the next season, Ren Suo sent Ren Woxing and Ren Feifan out in an expedition to Tiger Pa.s.s, when a prompt suddenly appeared:
[Ren Woxing noticed that there is a mysterious fog coming from the northeast, do you wish to investigate?]
A new dot suddenly appeared on the large map. Ren Suo was jolted awake in an instant and sent the two Ren brothers over to investigate.
There, they met a lake elf, Ling Po!
Ling Po said, “Elders, a large demon has been loitering nearby recently, but I am not skilled enough to defeat him. Would you be kind enough to lend a helping hand to bring peace back to the surrounding area again?”
Then, Dong Province in the northeast lit up on the map. It was now a possible expedition area, and an additional line of information appeared: [Presence of a small number of demons (easy).]
It was only then that Ren Suo realized that there was such a use for the Scout ability of the characters which he had never thought to be useful: Not only did the ability increase the chances of expanding the accessible area on the map, it would also allow difficulty descriptions of the newly appeared expedition areas!
After the Ren brothers returned home from the expedition, the name “Ling Po Lake Elf” appeared in the [Spiritual Exchange] list found in the main hall of the Ren family house. The price was exorbitant—1000 Reiki crystals were required to mate!
Ren Suo finally understood the purpose of each of the six-character attributes thoroughly.
Attack: When engaging in a battle with demons, having a higher Attack than the Defense of the target would result in the target being killed instantly. If the character’s Attack is smaller than or equal to the Defense of the target, the target would receive damage based on the formula (Defense – Attack), and the target’s Defense would be reduced accordingly. For example, if Ren Woxing with Attack 1 attacked a Ghost Troop with Defense 3, the Ghost Troop would then have a reduced Defense 2.
Defense: It is essentially the health points of the Pract.i.tioners of the Ren family. They would survive as long as their Defense does not drop to 0 and would be replenished after every battle.
Scout: Gather information on the enemies and increase the chance of occurrence of rare events.
Movement: In battle, the character would be able to move the same distance as the Movement score. On the world map, it is the largest distance the Pract.i.tioners of the Ren family can travel. Indeed, if the target destination was too far, the Ren Pract.i.tioner may not be able to return home in time within the season after the expedition.
Recovery: In battle, the character would be able to recover Defense points based on the number of Recovery points. Villagers who are about to die in battle can also be saved. Outside the battle, the probability of villagers dying would be reduced.
Management: Matters unrelated to battle are related to Management.
Ren Suo had a decent impression of the game thus far.
The game was complicated but not difficult to understand, and the plot was interesting and varied. It was indeed a very interesting family management simulation game with tactical gameplay based on the context of the Three Kingdoms.
This was because most of the locations where the demons appeared were famous historical places where very large numbers of injuries and deaths occurred.
Hulao Pa.s.s was where the Guandong coalition of 18 officials and warlords fought Dong Zhuo; Yan Province was where the rebels in the Yellow Turban Rebellion fought the imperial army; Xu Province was where Cao Cao’s Army invaded to avenge the murder of Cao Cao’s father…
The Ren brothers had to spend a few seasons fighting before the enemies at each of the locations could all be eliminated, during which they would also meet with thieves and robbers, rebels in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, lone Demons and wild Ghosts…In the chaotic world of Reiki rejuvenation, both the Demons were vicious and humans were malicious. Only Pract.i.tioners like the Ren brothers were capable of defeating the evil Demons.
“I shall sleep after this battle!” Ren Suo said. Ren Suo looked at the bright sky outside as an urge to equip himself with the [Unlimited Energy] ability to continue playing the game arose.
However, Ren Suo touched his hair and decided not to make such a poor decision which would damage his organs and whiten his hair.
Ren Suo finally defeated the challenging big BOSS “Six Arm Demon Corpse”, and the results of the battle appeared:
[The battle has ended. You found 3x Perfect Straight Sword, 8x Perfect Spear, 1x Superior Long Sword, 120x Treasure, 250x Reiki crystals.]
However, at this juncture, Ren Feifan suddenly said, “Big Brother, why…why are there so many demons? They had all been ordinary people before…”
Ren Woxing replied, “They had a lot of hate and resentment when they died, so they formed a connection with Reiki and turned into demons. Isn’t this very normal? From the transmitted knowledge by descent, you should have also understood that amongst the demons and ghosts, they are monsters who were originally humans but died full of resentment and hate, who were then a.s.sociated with and transformed by Reiki and became thirsty for the blood of animals.”
Ren Feifan said, “I know…But these people were all ordinary people who had been farming all their lives, just like Xiao Cu…Why, why do they end up in such a state, filled with much hate and resentment, waiting to be slaughtered?”
Ren Woxing said, “The slaughtering has the capability to scare and terrorize the enemies and make them surrender…At the same time, slaughtering can ease the pressure and stress of the troops, as well as calm and appease the anger of Cao Cao. It is said that Cao Cao’s father was murdered in Xu Zhou, and this is also the reason why troops have been dispatched this time, to avenge his father.”
Ren Feifan asked, “So…is this all Cao Cao’s fault?”
Ren Woxing replied, “You can say so…What has gotten into you?” Ren Feifan said, “I’m fine…”
Ren Suo looked at the scene with raised eyebrows. Ren Feifan was obviously planning something!
The next moment, as Ren Suo had predicted, the game prompted: [Ren Feifan has left the team.]
It was now the winter of year 193, and Ren Feifan was no longer present in the main hall of the Ren family house. Ren Changsheng said, “Master, Third Brother has disappeared…Please let us know your plans for the upcoming season.” The demons were growing stronger by the day, but now with Ren Feifan gone, the indispensable, one and the only close-range fighter was no longer available. How was Ren Suo going to fight in the game without Ren Feifan?
Fortunately, however, Ren Feifan returned in spring the next year. However, his hair had turned grey like that of sixty to seventy-year-olds, and he was visibly worn-out. It was as if he was in his final years.
Ren Feifan said, “Big Brother, Second Brother…I am back.” Ren Suo queried Ren Feifan’s attributes and found that his lifespan had reduced to 18 years!
And he was 18 years old that year!
Thankfully, the game had not been made to leave the player hanging. Ren Changsheng said in astonishment, “Third Brother, you…what happened to you?”
Ren Feifan replied, “I tried to kill Cao Cao, but I failed. Not only did he have talents who know roughly how to utilize Reiki, but more importantly, when I was about to hurt him, my body tensed up and froze…I tried to kill him three times, but failed each time.”
Ren Changsheng said, “That is exactly the power of the shackles within our blood. We have already went against the rules once, and now that this has occurred once again, the shackles would be tightened and the blood of the champion would become stronger, resulting in a shorter lifespan. Third Brother, why are you so foolish…Do we have a feud with Cao Cao? Why did you make it so hard on yourself?”
Ren Feifan replied, “I don’t know either…Whenever I close my eyes, I can see the resentful souls of the dead bodies in Xu Province coming together and turning into creatures which look like humans but are not humans, and ghosts but are not ghosts.”
“What did they do wrong? They had not done wrong, so someone else must have been wrong. Isn’t punis.h.i.+ng the ones that had done wrong the logical action…”
In the garden outside the Ren family house, spring was in the air, and the sky was clear.
Ren Suo glanced at the amount of Reiki crystals written at the top right corner of the screen, then selected the [Spiritual Exchange] option. He selected the Ling Po Lake Elf, then chose Ren Feifan.
In the summer of year 194, Ren Feifan appeared in the main hall of the house carrying a baby. He looked weak and weary, but a smile was on his face.
“This child shall be named Ren Buhui…” Ren Feifan said. Then, the game entered a CG sequence.
“Big Brother, fortunately…I am able to continue our Ren family bloodline without dying…”
Ren Feifan said as Ren Woxing and Ren Changsheng helped him maintain his balance. He continued feebly, “It’s a pity that I have yet to learn how to cook, and I still have to rely on Big Brother to cook food for me…although the food you cook is really terrible…”
“Second Brother, it has been hard on you all these years, and I know that many of the things that you have had to go around clearing up the mess I have caused. This time, I don’t know what will happen after I offended Cao Cao. I still have one last thing, Second Brother, please help Xiao Cui to find a good man…”
“Third Brother!”
“Third Brother, don’t speak anymore!”
Ren Feifan embraced his two other brothers in a tight hug and finally cried. His tears dripped down his cheeks as his body began to s.h.i.+ne brightly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…Will you all remember me after I go?”
“I will!” Ren Woxing said as he nodded his head vigorously. “I, you, Second Brother… We will not be forgotten by people!”
[In the summer of year 194, Ren Feifan pa.s.sed away at the age of 18. His last words were: I’m sorry for leaving so early.]
In the Family Tree page, the avatar of Ren Feifan turned grey.
Ren Suo stared blankly at the screen for some time before he regained his senses and remembered about the game.
“Oh no, I have not saved my progress!” It was only then that Ren Suo realized that he had already spent 16 continuous hours on the game. He had almost never stopped playing, and since the game was not very challenging, he had been too lazy to save the game.
However, when he turned the game system on, he realized that there was only the option to exit the game. There was no option to save!
Ren Suo chose to exit the game, then reopened the game. When the system was reading the game, a message appeared on the save file page:
[The name is cast in stone, preserved in history, never to be lost.]
There was no way to save his current game progress. The only options were to read the game save file directly, or start over again.
Now, Ren Suo finally understood why the game was given a 2-star difficulty rating. In his Ren family savefile, Ren Woxing would soon die in year 195, leaving behind only Ren Changsheng and two other infants! Ren Changsheng would not be able to leave the house, and would only be able to wait for the two children to grow up. By that time, he could well have aged and died too!
Furthermore, when the two children grow older, they would not be strong enough to defeat the demons which are also growing stronger by the day!
Even if they did manage to grow up, they were characters which Ren Suo was not able to control, and had the tendency to take unexpected actions. Apart from Ren Feifan’s sudden withdrawal from the team previously, Ren Changsheng also left the team without warning in one of the expeditions to save a group of refugees, almost causing Ren Woxing to die in that expedition.
Ren Suo had to be able to deal with unforeseen circ.u.mstances when uncontrollable characters in the family caused trouble. At the same time, he had to fight increasingly stronger enemies, manage sudden disasters, counter the lack of targets available for Spiritual Exchange, as well as the shortening lifespan and potential end of his bloodline due to the curse. In such pressing circ.u.mstances, Ren Suo had to ensure that the family survived and prospered for 76 years.
Simply put, it was as challenging and as demanding as an online novel writer hoping to shoot to fame with his first novel.