Ren Suo had seriously considered why he should choose 'Over My Dead Body.'
He knew that the games within the Mini-World Game Console were extraordinary. Before playing, the only thing he could roughly understand about a game from its introduction was its general content—which was essentially useless for making a choice.
In this situation, I had to rely on other data to help evaluate the differences between games.
For 'Assassin's Bloody Banquet,' I had received an 'extraordinary' score of 80 and was rewarded with 15 Merit Points. For 'If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters,' I had also received an 'extraordinary' score of 80 but was rewarded with 24 Merit Points.
If one ignored the differences in game types, then for the same score, evaluation, and star-level difficulty, 'If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters' indeed offered more Merit Points than 'Assassin's Bloody Banquet.' I also clearly felt that the former was more challenging than the latter.
Thus, I arrived at an unverifiable conclusion: within the same star level, games with higher maximum Merit Point rewards were more difficult.
Hence, the difficulty of 'Infiltration: Chapter One,' which had a maximum reward of 100 Merit Points, would be higher than 'Over My Dead Body: Chapter One,' which had a maximum reward of 80 Merit Points, even though both were two-star difficulty games.
Excluding 'Slaughter Dungeon,' which I had directly given up on due to its extremely low cost-effectiveness, the less challenging 'Over My Dead Body' seemed like my best entry point for trying two-star games.
Otherwise, if I chose a game that was too difficult to complete, it would mean this month's free game opportunity would be wasted. Without earning Merit Points, even if there were discounts next time, I might not be able to afford anything.
Because acquiring the key had cost 1 point, I now had only 25 Merit Points. I didn't believe that amount was enough to buy any significant game. The games from last month were already discounted at 50%, yet I still couldn't afford them, only managing to buy a mini-game like 'If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters.'
Even if I encountered more discount promotions, they might not offer more than 50% off. If the discounts were only 10% or 20%, I would likely have to watch helplessly and wait for next month's free game refresh to try earning Merit Points again.
'Slaughter Dungeon' was the safest option but had the lowest cost-effectiveness. 'Infiltration: Chapter One' was the riskiest but had the highest potential benefits.
As a traditional citizen of the Mysterious Country, steeped in the doctrine of moderation, Ren Suo chose the middle road with 'Over My Dead Body.'
What, do I seem too cowardly, not like a protagonist?
Well... after obtaining the Mini-World Game Console, I still contemplated becoming a civil servant, which shows my lack of ambition. My family wasn't very rich or noble, but we were an ordinary household, without ailments or pains. Although I wasn't a standout person in my classes during school, I always attended good high schools, so I never faced school bullying. I also never had a girlfriend break up with me for a rich second-generation heir because I was poor—first, I would need a girlfriend, of course.
However, I didn't consider this being cowardly, but cautious—well, the meaning was still the same.
"Choose 'Over My Dead Body!'"
'Player has selected the free chapter. This month's free chapter of "Over My Dead Body" is "Chapter One: Annals," with a game difficulty: two-star.'
'This free chapter has a difficulty of two stars, with an exclusive reward of "Strong Heart Technique."'
'This game chapter playtime ends on April 31 at 23:59:59. After this time, the game will automatically be deleted.'
Upon entering the game, Ren Suo immediately felt the prestige of a game that not only offered numerous Merit Points but was also split into chapters: like 'Assassin,' it had an opening CG.
"Late Eastern Han Dynasty. Eunuchs held sway over the government, imperial relatives wielded power, and prominent families dominated all regions, leaving the common people unable to sustain their livelihoods..."
"In A.D. 184, the Yellow Turbans' uprising erupted, shaking the capital..."
"This war, which lasted four years, not only depleted the last vestiges of the Han imperial family's resources but also led to local warlords carving out their own territories..."
"In A.D. 189, Young Emperor Liu Bian ascended the throne, and the battle between the imperial relatives and the eunuchs intensified. Grand General He Jin died in the Imperial Palace. Before his death, he had summoned Dong Zhuo's army into Luoyang to control the court. That same year, Dong Zhuo deposed Liu Bian, installed Liu Xie as a puppet emperor, and declared himself Chancellor, monopolizing governmental authority."
"In A.D. 190, eighteen feudal lords formed the Eastern Alliance Army, clashing fiercely with Dong Zhuo's forces at Hulao Pass, with neither side gaining a clear advantage. When Dong Zhuo's army moved to Chang'an, the lords, each harboring their own ambitions and differing opinions, caused their alliance to fracture and their forces to scatter."
Ren Suo watched the ink painting depicting the fierce battle and nodded slightly. Could this game be a strategy game? Like choosing a lord in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' to rule all under heaven?
He was well acquainted with the late Eastern Han Dynasty period, when the realm was divided into three warring states and beacon fires of war burned incessantly, not only from games but also from TV dramas and comics.
However, the visual style abruptly transformed from a heavy sense of history to a horrifying spectacle of ghosts and ghastly figures as the narration continued: "However, when Dong Zhuo led the Western Liang army out of Chang'an, he not only forced the civilians to leave and burned the city, causing countless deaths, but he also desecrated tombs and destroyed all the imperial mausoleums of the Han Dynasty!"
"Emperor Guangwu of Han, using the art of aligning Heaven and Earth, summoned meteors from beyond the skies to annihilate all demons and ghosts, reclaiming the Han territories. Afterwards, he realigned the Dragon Veins of the Central Plains, using the Han imperial mausoleums as the heart of an array and the Dragon Veins as its channels. Utilizing the will of Heaven, the energy of Earth, and the great power of humanity, he sealed the Spirit Veins of the Central Plains, thereby suppressing the birth of all demons at their source."
"Now, with the imperial mausoleums destroyed and the Dragon Veins in chaos, the great array has failed, and the Spirit Veins have re-emerged in the Central Plains. The resurrection of demons is imminent, and the heroes of the world will also benefit from the Spirit Veins. Henceforth, the world may descend into dark ages like those of the Shang, Qin, and Han Dynasties, with demons sowing chaos with their mana, and heroes battling for dominion over the people with their immense power..."
"But Emperor Guangwu had foreseen this and already prepared a countermeasure."
"At the dawn of the Han restoration, to perpetuate the dynasty and its imperial lineage, Emperor Guangwu established the Yuntai Pavilion. He assigned twenty-eight generals to gather all destroyed cultivation teachings. As the Spirit Veins were suppressed, the practice of cultivation throughout the land diminished, and practitioners became no different from ordinary mortals. Profound teachings became absurd legends that gradually disappeared, and the entire Cultivation System of cultivators and demons collapsed."
"If the Spirit Veins were to revive, it would mean the imperial mausoleums were damaged, the Dragon Veins disturbed, and the Han Dynasty in turmoil. For this reason, Emperor Guangwu located the descendants of the Marquis of Champion from the Huo family, sealing within their bloodline the Yuntai Pavilion Cultivation Methods and setting three Locks on their lineage:
First, they must defend the Han Dynasty to the death and not interfere with political power;
Second, without violating the first condition, they must eradicate demons to the death;
Third, without violating the previous two conditions, they must continue their family lineage.
Violating any one of these would trigger the curse of the Champion Bloodline, and the Locks would become even more stringent!"
"Now, the hidden descendants of the Huo family, with the reawakening of the Spirit Veins, have awakened the talents... and mission hidden deep within their bloodline."
The game CG ended there, and an input box popped up:
"Please enter the family surname: Huo."
The default is Huo... Ren Suo thought for a moment and then naturally changed the surname to 'Ren'.
"Please enter the name of the first Family Head: **"
Based on the martial arts novels he had read, he input 'Woxing.' That was indeed the most imposing Ren Family name I'd ever heard. He had once considered changing his name to Ren Woxing when he was in the third grade of elementary school, until his father, picking up a feather duster, had told him, "You want to be called Ren Woxing (Ren I-Do-As-I-Please)? Then I, your father, will be called Ren I'll-Beat-You."
Ren Woxing was subdued by Ren I'll-Beat-You, and the plan to change his name was aborted.
The screen changed to show a green mountain with more than ten graves. Three young men were kneeling before the tombs, burning paper money.
The handsome and robust youth kneeling in the middle, named 'Ren Woxing,' said, "Second Brother, Third Brother, stop crying. We are the only ones left in the Ren Family now. We must shoulder our responsibility and fulfill our mission."
"Mission... mission?!" The third brother, Ren Feifan, wiped his nose and cried, "Fulfill the mission, fine! But why did Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, Uncles all have to die so tragically!?"
"Third Brother, recall our inherited knowledge," the second brother, Ren Changsheng, sobbed once and slowly calmed down. "This is the curse of the Champion Bloodline. Those born with the Champion Bloodline possess immense cultivation talent and a pure body. In an era when the Spirit Veins revive, they can rapidly become powerful Qi Refiners."
"However, a true pure body is almost 'Joining the Way'; we are merely close to it. When we surpass twenty-four years of age, that is when the pure body is achieved. The moment we come into contact with Spiritual Energy, our bodies will be torn apart instantly... not even an inch of flesh or bone will remain, only a pool of blood."
"The Champion Bloodline is both favored by Heaven and Earth and cursed by Destiny."
Ren Feifan burst into tears once more.