Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Improving One’s Physical Abilities
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“So, this is how it is done…”
Ren Suo looked at the pathetic amount of 2 merits that he had left, though he felt that everything was worth it. He had gotten 80 points on the scoreboard!
[Mission accomplished.]
[Completed basic mission objective – 60 points awarded]
[Completed side mission – 15 points awarded]
[Saved other characters – 5 points awarded]
[Total score is 80 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]
[Current mission score: 80 points (extraordinary). High score: 80 points (extraordinary).]
[Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]
[You may upload your score once.]
No other prompts providing tips to increase the score appeared. Even if there had been any, Ren Suo no longer wanted to try again. He had barely reached the goal even after staying up for another night.
It was now 4 a.m. and Ren Suo had to be at the Ministry of State Security in the afternoon. He knew he had to sleep and could not play any longer.
More importantly, he was getting tired of playing the game.
Overcoming the obstacles to ascend to the summit and helping the matchstick-like characters reach the summit were both extremely difficult tasks. However, unlike the former which required skill and precision, the latter depended more on luck. Ren Suo had started helping the matchstick-like characters reach the summit from Campsite V at 9600 meters, which did not seem too big of a challenge for just the remaining 400 meters.
However…
Not only did he try the entire night, but he also spent an additional 4 merits. He felt as if he had been played by the game instead…
Fortunately, it was finally time to reap the rewards. Ren Suo increased his attention as he anxiously uploaded his score.
[Your score has been uploaded successfully. You have received 24 merits. Use them wisely.]
[You have received 1* one-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the safehouse inventory.]
[You have received the following special reward: Enhanced Physique. It can be found and activated in the safehouse inventory.]
[Your score for [A Strong Warrior Ascends 10000 Meters] has been uploaded. Thank you for playing. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]
“Only 24 merits!” Ren Suo was perplexed. What happened to the 40 merits the description mentioned?
Although he had only gotten a score of 80 points, the math still did not add up. He reckoned he should have been awarded 40 * 0.8 = 32 merits instead!
Is this not how merits are calculated and awarded?
If only this game console was a well-known system, Ren Suo could have asked for a refund. However, the Mini Worlds Gaming Console did not even have a customer service hotline that he could call to ask for one…
Nonetheless, he managed to earn 12 merits more than what he had spent. It was not a bad deal.
Ren Suo opened the safehouse inventory. Apart from the treasure chest, there was a s.h.i.+ny sphere glowing with a subtle green tint.
[Enhanced Physique: A one-time reward that disappears when used. Enhances all physical ent.i.ties. It can only be used by the player. The weaker the player’s body, the greater the enhancement.]
The treasure chest required a key to be opened, as usual. However, Ren Suo had already used the one-star Sleepy Key to open the previous treasure chest, thus he had to find ways to obtain more keys before he could open the new treasure chest. On the other hand, he was able to use the “Enhanced Physique” ability immediately.
[Do you confirm that you would like to use ‘Enhanced Physique’? Yes/No]
Ren Suo selected “Yes”, and the glowing green sphere slowly disappeared from his safehouse inventory.
“Hmm?”
“What happens now?”
After waiting for a minute, Ren Suo still did not feel any physical changes in his body and started feeling depressed and dejected. He then realized that it was 4:15 in the morning and yawned…
It was already past 12 midnight when Ren Suo fell asleep.
“Ah…” Ren Suo rubbed his eyes as he awoke the next morning. The safehouse inventory was still being displayed on the screen. It was only 30 seconds later that he finally recalled how he had fallen asleep the previous night.
He rubbed his bottoms and heaved a sigh of relief when he confirmed that he was unhurt. After this, he proceeded to the toilet to freshen up while he tried to recall what had happened…
“Wait, hold up…”
Ren Suo was amazed!
This was the first time ever since he had gotten the Mini Worlds Gaming Console that he had not awakened from his sleep to find himself as hungry as the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul!
When Ren Suo had awoken from his sleep the last two days, he was so hungry he could barely move. Even the simple act of ordering food delivery had felt exhausting. This time, however, he felt refreshed and energized, even as he stretched his muscles!
After was.h.i.+ng up, Ren Suo deliberated for a short while but still decided to call for food delivery. It was solely because he was lazy and not because he could not go down by himself.
Ren Suo spoke into the microphone of his mobile phone, “h.e.l.lo?”
“h.e.l.lo?” the lady at the Jianji stall answered.
Ren Suo continued, “Yes.”
“Yes,” the lady manning the Jianji stall consequently replied.
After placing his order, Ren Suo paced around in the living room for a short while. He was becoming more confident that this was the effect of [Enhanced Physique].
“But I don’t think I smell…” Ren Suo said as he took a sniff of himself. He rubbed his elbows together and specks of dirt came off. However, it was typical for seb.u.m and dirt to acc.u.mulate there following a night’s sleep.
Based on Ren Suo’s simple and unscientific reasoning, his body had undergone a transformation. Hence, there should be noticeable changes occurring, such as the pores of the skin releasing toxins, resulting in the body producing a foul odor that was akin to feces…
However, Ren Suo’s pores were smaller than the sharp end of a needle. If toxins were released from such tiny pores, he would have had blood full of toxins.
Furthermore, the dust particles, dead skin cells, and bacteria in the air would make up much of the seb.u.m and impurities. The seb.u.m would glue the impurities together to form dirt. Thus, it was unrealistic for normal people to secrete toxins and fats through the pores of the skin.
To secrete toxins, that would instead require––
“Holy cow!”
Ren Suo exclaimed as he clambered hastily to the toilet. The moment he pulled down his pants, he felt as if the world tore apart and then came back together again. The earth trembled and the sky crackled as Ren Suo discharged a long stream of solid waste from his bowels. It was as if a huge explosion had occurred…
By the time Ren Suo came out of the toilet to collect his food, the delivery man had already been waiting at the door for a while. The delivery man took a deep breath and was just about to lament about having to wait such a long time for Ren Suo to come to the door. However, the unpleasant odor from Ren Suo’s prior business was so strong that the delivery man’s face suddenly turned pale, and he simply scurried away quickly instead after handing the food to Ren Suo.
Ren Suo shut the main door and quietly shut the toilet door as well. It was April, and the weather in Lianjiang was getting warmer. Although Ren Suo had flushed the toilet, the foul odor had already spread quickly around the house…
Even Ren Suo himself could not stand the smell after a short while and thus, proceeded to eat at his balcony instead. When he had finally finished eating to his heart’s content, he received a message on his phone.
“Director Ye from the street office: In case any unforeseen accidents occur, bring along two extra sets of clothes to the interview.”
A change of clothes? Do I need to change into different sets of clothes just for an interview? Ren Suo was perplexed. Suddenly, Ren Suo’s phone rang.
“h.e.l.lo?” a crisp and clear female voice said from the other end of the line. She asked, “Is this Ren Suo?”
“Yes, I am.” Ren Suo replied as he smacked his lips after finis.h.i.+ng the complimentary fresh soup from Jianji stall.
“Are you eating? I’m so sorry for disturbing you,” said the girl on the other end of the line.
“It’s okay, I’ve just finished my food. You are…?” Ren Suo asked.
The girl replied, “I am Li Qingxuan. I am also going to the interview at the Ministry of State Security later in the afternoon.”
“Oh,” Ren Suo said as he recalled that Director Ye had called him yesterday to inform him of his interview this afternoon at the Ministry of State Security. Many enticing benefits would be awaiting him if he pa.s.sed the interview. Apart from him, there was this other girl who also received the interview opportunity.
“Did you forget?” asked a bemused Li Qingxuan. “It’s already one o’clock.”
“No, no, I didn’t,” Ren Suo denied as he shook his head. “I am just about to prepare for it…Why did you call me?”
Li Qingxuan replied, “This interview opportunity came so suddenly, and it seemed so strange. I’m just wondering if you have any insider information about it.”
“How would that be possible? I am also just an ordinary university graduate,” Ren Suo replied shamelessly as he glanced at the Mini Worlds Gaming Console in his living room.
“How about this? Let’s go in together so that, at the very least, we would be familiar with each other. Shall we meet at the Ministry’s entrance at 2 p.m.?” Li Qingxuan asked.
Ren Suo replied cautiously, “Is this a date?”
Li Qingxuan also became more vigilant and asked, “You like guys. Don’t you?”