CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 281: FORCING THE PLAYER

After the black customer left as if he had received a great pardon, Red Armor approached and said, "Are you angry, Sir? You usually measure your actions very carefully; this sort of thing is quite rare."

Ren Suo was taken aback at first because Red Armor was speaking Japanese, which he didn’t understand. However, once the voice reached his brain through his cochlea, it automatically translated into a language he was familiar with. The translation process was very smooth, and Ren Suo blurted out his response in Japanese, "A little."

Red Armor nodded. "Then, when facing weak enemies next, should I use lethal force?"

"No need."

Ren Suo looked at his True Form leaning against a tree not far away and wanted to go directly to it. But after moving five meters from the Ghost Stall, he felt as if a layer of transparent glue had appeared between heaven and earth, and he encountered immense resistance with every step forward. Unable to leave the Ghost Stall, he commanded Red Armor, "Carry that person over here."

Loyal Red Armor didn’t ask a single question and easily left the Ghost Stall, bringing Ren Suo’s True Form over and placing him on a chair at the food stall.

His True Form was in a strange state; he looked as if he had fainted, but his eyes were merely narrowed, and his eyeballs were clearly still moving, indicating he might still be conscious. Ren Suo poked his True Form’s forehead with his finger, but there was no response. He patted his face—still no response. He tickled his waist—again, no response. This surprised Ren Suo, as he knew he was extremely ticklish there.

The problem lay with the Pure White Mini Holy Grail.

Once Ren Suo’s consciousness transferred to the female shop owner, he found he was unable to switch his True Form’s equipment. He could only use the "Mysterious Sovereign’s Secret Records" and "Flame Overlord" that the female shop owner had equipped, as well as the materialized "Pure White Mini Holy Grail" and "Goddess Jade Pendant." He was unable to switch in the ability items from the reserve slot. This was because, in the game, he had equipped these items to the female shop owner. And now, he was also unable to make his True Form unequip them.

Ren Suo turned his head and glanced at Red Armor, noting that Red Armor had already sheathed his sword and was meditating cross-legged, facing away from the Ghost Stall, completely ignoring the female shop owner’s actions. At this moment, Ren Suo realized that the game system’s willingness to let Players recruit Red Armor, while not providing options for Stedley and Little Nine-Tailed Fox to follow, was perhaps because Red Armor met the requirements in both strength and loyalty.

Since Red Armor was so considerate, Ren Suo paid him no mind and began to experiment. First, he touched the Mark on his True Form’s arm with the Pure White Mini Holy Grail. The grail warmed up again, and the connection with his True Form also became clearer. However, Ren Suo realized it was impossible for him to return to his True Form through the grail—he had no idea how to ’dive’ back.

The transfer from his True Form into the female shop owner’s body had been entirely one-sided, driven by her attraction; he had been completely passive. Now, if Ren Suo wanted to return to his True Form, he would need an external force.

Indeed, if the female shop owner’s body could move freely, Ren Suo might have accepted this change. After all, her strength was formidable, and she was a beautiful girl. Even if it was a bit uncomfortable and he couldn’t change back, Ren Suo would have accepted it. But the female shop owner was now bound to the Ghost Stall, and it was uncertain whether the game console would toss her elsewhere in the future. Ren Suo had no interest in abandoning his life of over twenty years to start anew, so naturally, he had to find a way back to his True Form.

What exactly is going on? Ren Suo frowned, pondering. Could it be because the Pure White Mini Holy Grail appeared in the same place at the same time? My True Form bears the Mark of the Pure White Mini Holy Grail, while the Ghost Stall has the actual item. Could the resonance phenomenon be due to their close proximity? This speculation isn’t quite reliable. Even if there were resonance, why would it include the effect of soul transference? Moreover, besides the "Pure White Mini Holy Grail," I also have the "Goddess Jade Pendant." Could wearing the "Goddess Jade Pendant" also trigger this kind of phenomenon?

There was some logic to this. In the "Equipment Interface," once an item was equipped to a game character, Ren Suo himself could not equip it. Even if Ren Suo summoned the character through "Rippling Spring Sounds," it was impossible for both him and the game character to equip the same item simultaneously. The only exception was during the process of uploading the task evaluation. Since the game had ended, Ren Suo could retrieve the items equipped on his character, but in reality, the game character was still using the same item. Even if Ren Suo’s items appeared as Marks, from the game’s perspective, it was equivalent to an item appearing on two people simultaneously.

The question was, it’s normal for a bug to occur due to item duplication, but how is this related to soul transfer? Ren Suo didn’t think the game’s equipment feature would have such a major flaw. Moreover, compared to other items, the "Pure White Mini Holy Grail" had an even more important characteristic: It’s a Krypton Gold channel.

In "Midnight Walker," whenever Ren Suo wanted to use Krypton Gold, it was accomplished through the "Pure White Mini Holy Grail."

At this moment, because Ren Suo had been continuously pressing the grail against the Mark, he didn’t notice when a thread connected to the embers suddenly snapped. A bit more of the embers within his True Form flowed into the female shop owner’s body!

A chill ran through Ren Suo’s heart—he knew that if this continued, he would have to live a beautiful life with the face of this beautiful girl, possessing immense strength, inspiring awe and respect in all beings, wielding the power of Desire, and having a beautiful complexion and a good figure!

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out beside his ear:

"Minor World, a world of endless delights!"

The game console’s startup voice!? Ren Suo immediately grasped this last lifeline, asking in his mind, What do I need to do to return to my True Form?

The game console replied:

"Detected 99.9% of Level 4 Player ’Ren Naiser’s’ soul, but due to nonstandard operation, the Player can only use limited functions. We urge Players to play games through official channels, support official recharge, reject detrimental games, pay attention to self-protection, and beware of being cheated."

"Player remaining Merit Points: 260 points"

"Exchange List"

"One cup of 1% Prayer Concentration Holy Water: 1 Merit Point, capable of temporarily restoring spirit, enabling one to listen to hearts and speak persuasive words."

"One cup of 10% Prayer Concentration Holy Water: 25 Merit Points, capable of temporarily restoring spirit, enabling one to listen to hearts and speak words that others will follow."

"One cup of 1% Desire Concentration Holy Wine: 5 Merit Points, capable of temporarily restoring Physical Strength, enabling one to gain Insight into hearts and causing others to lower their guard."

"One cup of 10% Desire Concentration Holy Wine: 40 Merit Points, capable of temporarily restoring Physical Strength, enabling one to gain Insight into hearts and causing others to develop a favorable impression."

Ren Suo was stunned for a moment. I’m clearly in reality, yet the game console is treating me as a Player, and what’s more, as if I’m still in the game?

Ren Suo quickly noticed that the items on the exchange list had new descriptions, and he began to suspect something. When he saw the next piece of information, he understood why he hadn’t completely transferred into the female shop owner’s body and why some embers still remained in his True Form.

—He had triggered another feature of the Bond System.