"The Minor World, endless fun."
Ren Suo noticed that the startup sound of the system seemed to have changed a bit. It had gone from the crisp and bright sound, like a young girl biting an apple, to a much calmer tone, akin to a middle school girl reading aloud from a textbook.
"As long as it doesn't speak with a chilling wind..." muttered Ren Suo. He used to like the animations from Thriller Paradise, but the opening, with a different eerie voice saying 'Welcome to Thriller Paradise' every time, scared him so much that he always skipped it.
Opening the Content Preservation Vault, Ren Suo saw the shiny key and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
'One-star Insight Key: Additional +10% chance to obtain insight-related rewards.'
Pretty standard, he thought. Almost identical to the description of the One-Star Sleep Key. Sleep-related rewards I could understand, but insight-related rewards... what the hell? A fifteen-times magnifying glass? An electron microscope with a magnification over three million times? Anyway, this had nothing to do with me—my luck was bad this time, and I didn't trigger that rare 10% chance.
Ren Suo went to the bathroom to wash his hands with soap. He also turned off the game controller and then carefully wiped it with an alcohol pad.
After all, it was better to believe it than not, he mused. Who knew? Perhaps the Mini-World Game Console was an Immortal Treasure. If it saw my sincerity, it might give me some preferential treatment. If licking the console could increase its affection for me, I'd lick it until it shone like waxed polish.
Nervously, Ren Suo opened the Treasure Box from 'If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters'—
'You used a 'One-star Insight Key' to open this treasure box.'
'You have acquired the skill 'Unlimited Energy'.'
'Unlimited Energy'
'Quality Rank: One-Star Ability, Prerequisite: Possessing a physical body.'
'Effect: After equipping, the player will have unlimited energy. Although still limited by the maximum physical strength the body can exert, its base physical strength recovery rate will increase. It will reach the MAX limit value for an upright carbon-based life form on the third planet of the Solar System, located at the edge of the Orion Arm. Furthermore, it will suppress all discomfort to a tolerable level.'
'Usage: While in 'Unlimited Energy' status, every second of maintenance consumes one second of lifespan.'
'Note: On the road to pursuing the supreme path, the near-ascetic Truth Seekers have exhausted the potential of mortal bodies, representing the limits of humanity—but merely the limits of humanity.'
"Hmm... It looks like a serious explanation of the game setting..."
In 'If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters', if it were just a stick-figure jumping game, it would be nothing much. However, if it turned into an actual Female Seeker climbing the ten-thousand-meter Mount Hyjal, many irrational aspects would emerge.
Putting aside the Truth Seeker's ultimate Refining Void and Merging Way—this phrase frequently cropped up in barrage comments, a testament to how the rise of online novels in recent years has greatly promoted Taoist culture—the very fact that the Seeker climbed from 0 to 10,000 meters without sleeping, eating, or drinking was enough to make one deeply skeptical. It was almost as if she were some kind of nuclear-powered robot invented by a mad scientist.
On Earth, no one can go without sleep. Only a tiny number of individuals, no more than five, can remain awake for nearly 24 hours a day. In fact, their sleep is broken into short segments; when they close their eyes for just a few dozen seconds, they complete a sleep cycle. The accumulation of these cycles creates the impression that they never sleep. The longest recorded attempt without sleep was 11 days.
On Earth, a human can survive 2 to 7 days without water and up to 90 days without food. However, these are extreme figures; real-life survival times are often shorter, depending on psychological and physical conditions.
Without a doubt, the Seeker's physical and mental states were at the pinnacle of human capabilities. That she could go without sleep, food, and water for five days seemed plausible... Bullshit!
During those five days, she was constantly engaged in the physically draining activities of climbing and cross-country trekking through mountains and forests. This was completely different from survivalists who lie still to minimize energy consumption. The entire journey was recorded on video without a single discrepancy, even featuring real people.
The individuals the Truth Seeker encountered included people from Mysterious Country and foreigners. Now, video-sharing sites in other countries were abuzz over this video, and television stations had conducted remote video interviews with those who had met the Seeker. The Seeker's authenticity was no longer in doubt.
Consequently, some people quite naturally speculated whether the Seeker was one of the 'Transcendents' or 'Awakeners' that occasionally popped up on the internet. The final scene, where she transformed into light, especially fired up the imagination.
This 'Unlimited Energy' skill was telling me that she wasn't a Cultivator; she was just a mortal, the strongest of mortals!
"But this ability actually comes with a cost... That's troubling," Ren Suo scratched his head.
Maintaining 'Unlimited Energy' for one second cost one second of his lifespan. This meant if Ren Suo had fifty years left to live and used the 'Unlimited Energy' skill every day, he might very well die of old age 25 years sooner.
Ren Suo reflected more deeply. He suspected he might not even live out half his remaining lifespan. Elderly people nowadays rarely die directly from old age; more commonly, they pass away from diseases due to weakened resistance from aging. If his lifespan were halved, Ren Suo might prematurely enter an elderly state and also die early from various geriatric diseases.
Ren Suo thought, But first, I should give it a try.
He opened the "Equipment Interface" and unequipped "Combat Basics," replacing it with "Unlimited Energy."
The moment he equipped it, Ren Suo felt something was wrong.
He had just been practicing the Advanced Breathing Technique, and his body was already quite tired. It was a peculiar ache, like the jaw fatigue from the effort of sucking meat from snail shells. He felt somewhat lethargic, his focus as scattered as if he'd just spent three hours on a comprehensive science exam. That's why he had stopped to play video games.
However, the moment 'Unlimited Energy' was activated, Ren Suo felt incredibly alert and spirited, as if he had just read several stimulating erotic comics. His body felt as energized as if he'd just gotten off work, and as light as if he'd shed hundreds of pounds of fat.
Ren Suo jumped and skipped around the room. He started with a hundred push-ups without feeling tired, then did sit-ups while performing the Advanced Breathing Technique, resuming his cultivation...
It wasn't until he had broken out in a hot sweat and started to feel uncomfortable that he stopped to wipe himself down with a towel.
Ren Suo looked in the mirror. Seeing my sweaty body, feeling the slight soreness in my muscles... I've never felt better! I can keep exercising, keep cultivating!
Ren Suo thought with a chuckle, Not too shabby. He unequipped "Unlimited Energy."
The second after he did so, Ren Suo's legs went weak, and he ended up kneeling in the bathroom! Fortunately, he grabbed the sink in time, or else he would have fallen completely!
Unrelenting aches attacked Ren Suo's body like an octopus's tentacles; he felt as though his body was no longer his, just a soul attached to a lump of rotten flesh.
Switch! Quickly switch back to 'Unlimited Energy'! As soon as the thought crossed Ren Suo's mind, he calmly snuffed out the foolish notion.
It took a full ten minutes before he could slowly straighten his back and crawl back to the couch like an infant. He cast a fearful glance at "Unlimited Energy" in the Equipment Interface's backup slot.
He had never smoked or tried forbidden substances, but Ren Suo knew that this skill had many similarities with addictive contraband.
Harmful, dependency-inducing, inescapable.
Ren Suo knew that if he equipped 'Unlimited Energy' now to escape his body's aches, weakness, and mental fatigue, he would never free himself from the skill's grip for the rest of his life. Half his lifespan would surely be consumed by it.
That feeling of emerging from hell and ascending to heaven, that state of perfect health, was far too tempting for humans. He even suspected this skill might also cause his brain to secrete endorphins—almost all the fatigue and pain from his muscles had been blocked.
This was a medicinal tonic akin to poison. If he didn't want to age prematurely, Ren Suo could only use this skill to save his life when absolutely necessary.
Indulging in the luxury of using this skill to stay up all night playing video games... that's something I can only fantasize about, he thought.
After a while, Ren Suo knew he wouldn't be able to go downstairs for dinner, so he dialed Jian Ji's number downstairs.
"Hello."
"Got it."
Ren Suo glanced at his phone. Does the downstairs landline even have caller ID? he wondered.
Barely sitting up on the sofa, Ren Suo opened the "World Store," heading straight for the "Free Game of the Month"—
"It's you!"
After last night's reflection before sleep, Ren Suo had decided that the game fortunate enough to be played for free this month was—
"Over My Dead Body"!