Chapter 51: Chapter 51: I Am Still A Kid
Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi followed You Xulong to the underground warehouse of the Ministry of State Security building, and each collected a specially-made set of uniforms. It consisted of a lightweight tactical vest reinforced with manganese steel which was resistant to slashes and cuts, as well as a pair of black-colored boxers.
The black-colored tactical vest was naturally the ones donned by the other members of the Countermeasure Division which Ren Suo had seen before numerous times. He lifted the vest and found that it was not very heavy. The vest did not seem like any ordinary slash-proof vest with manganese steel plates, but rather made from special man-made fibers.
You Xulong explained bluntly, “This set of clothes is not excellent at preventing slashes and cuts, but it is quite water-resistant and dries very quickly. It is also relatively fireproof. Nonetheless, the main purpose of this set of clothes is to help you avoid streaking in public under any circumstances.”
“Streaking?”
“Although Teams 1 and 2 are the ones usually involved in combat, it would not come as a surprise that given that we frequently work in the field, we would also encounter occasional unforeseen circumstances,” You Xulong said. He continued, “Or perhaps ignorant people on the streets would dare to offend you all…”
“Either way, there remains a possibility that you all would need to engage in combat—or at least circumstances in which you all need to protect yourselves. At the present moment, both of you are valuable tactical resources to the nation, and even if any of you have committed a crime, the case will be handed over to the Ministry of State Security which will then put you on trial.”
You Xulong took a glance at the two of them and said, “But regardless, both of you should still abide by the rules and laws of the nation.”
“If you have been given the death penalty, then it would be reported that you have been executed accordingly. However…given that you are still valuable tactical resources to the nation, you will definitely not be released so easily…”
Ren Suo was slightly taken aback. He took a quick glance at Qiao Muyi to see that she looked disturbed.
You Xulong continued, “Regardless, just be careful and diligent in your work. Both of you would not have much opportunity to be involved in fights anyway since both of you are not in Team 1 or 2. The other members of the Countermeasure Division generally perform logistical and administrative work. Of course, I don’t mean that both of you would definitely not have a chance to be involved in combat. It could be possible in the future if we expand the combat teams.”
“I have digressed…Anyway, the main purpose of this set of slash-proof vest and boxers is so that you will not need to end up naked in a fight.”
Qiao Muyi was stunned as she asked, “Why would we end up naked after combat?”
“Under normal circumstances, when you all use the [Clothes] and [Lock] skills, your logical mind remains in control of your innate abilities. This means that you all would be aware of the clothes that you are wearing, and will ensure that the [Clothes] formed with Reiki would be layered above your actual clothes,” You Xulong said. He continued, “However, when you are in a dangerous fight, you would frequently neglect such details, and as a result when you use [Clothes]…” As You Xulong spoke, he walked around the warehouse and picked up a piece of cloth. He wrapped the cloth around his arm and even tied a dead knot.
The next moment, the cloth wrapped around You Xulong’s hand was torn into pieces as if it had been expanded from the inside.
“There you go,” said You Xulong, unfazed. “That is what would happen.”
“If you fail to control the [Clothes] skill properly, the Reiki-fuelled layer of [Clothes] would be formed immediately above your skin, and based on the situation, it could continuously expand and cause the physical clothes that you are wearing to over-expand and burst.”
“However, these two sets of uniforms are specially-made slash-proof clothes…Indeed, this is true on the surface, but in actual fact, they were made from a kind of material devised from the techniques of certain Awakened Practitioners. After you have put them on, you just need to spend about 10 minutes to let your Reiki flow into the clothes. In that way, when you use the [Clothes] skill, your expanded Reiki will be able to recognize this set of clothes as your own skin automatically,” You Xulong explained.
“Wow!” a slightly delighted Ren Suo said. He looked at the set of clothes and asked, “Is it so powerful? It’s so customizable and adaptable?”
“Can one who is Awakened actually create such special materials?” Qiao Muyi questioned.
You Xulong looked at her and replied, “This isn’t something that one who is Awakened can achieve.”
Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi both understood what You Xulong was trying to imply: One person who is Awakened would not be able to achieve that, but what about a large group of them?
Suddenly, Ren Suo was slightly more cautious but also hesitant.
Xuan Nation was now strongly pushing for the development of Reiki techniques and investing all available resources to train Practitioners and those who are Awakened. Those who were already Awakened were being used to gradually create and develop Reiki techniques vastly different from the typical scientific realm, and related special products had even been created.
Without a doubt, in the era when Reiki emerged suddenly, Xuan Nation would continue to gain an advantage with its large population, and strive to remain at the forefront of the Reiki wave to continually enhance the strength and power of Xuan Nation.
That was why Ren Suo was hesitant—should I report my peculiar acquisition of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console?
Ren Suo still had no thorough understanding of the mechanisms of the Mini Worlds Gaming Console. He only knew roughly how he could earn more merits and then use them to purchase new games, search for keys, open treasure chests, and then continue earning more merits through playing free games…
The only thing Ren Suo knew for sure was that the events which took place in the games he played on the Mini Worlds Gaming Console would be translated in various ways into real life. But what did all of this mean?
If I showed the game console to the nation…
Ren Suo fell silent as he pondered. Suddenly, You Xulong slapped hard on his back, “It’s time to go back to sign the contract! Have you not seen any new clothes before? What’s with staring at it for so long?”
“No, it’s just…why is the uniform made of one vest and the pair of boxers?” Ren Suo asked casually as he regained his composure.
“The vest is for you to wear as the outermost layer when you are working in the field, so people can recognize that you are from the new division of the Ministry of State Security,” You Xulong said. He explained, “Ordinary people may not know of such a division, but other people working for the government would know that you are working in the field when they see you. At the least, they would not disturb you, and they may even volunteer to help you.”
“Furthermore, smarter people out there should at least figure out that they should not mess with people clad in such black vests.”
Qiao Muyi laughed and said, “So it’s like the uniforms of the Embroidered Uniform Guards? Their dragon-embroidered robes?
“I suppose it’s similar to that. Regardless, it’s just a way for people to know that you are part of a larger organization and should not be messed with,” You Xulong said.
He continued, “The vest can be seen on the outside, and as for the boxers…I suppose I don’t need to elaborate on that?”
Qiao Muyi asked, “Is there one spare set so that I can wash and dry them?”
“No, I already mentioned that the uniforms dry very quickly. They would be dry by tomorrow if you wash them when you reach home…” You Xulong replied.
After Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi signed their contracts and left the office, they added each other on WeChat before they parted ways—their mobile phones had been confiscated during the training camp. And when their mobile phones were returned to them, both of them were in a very awkward situation…
Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo and smiled as she asked, “You have given up, haven’t you?”
In another world, the answer was no—Ren Suo would never complain that he had too many keys. But nonetheless, Ren Suo would still feel embarrassed when asked such a question in person.
They added each other WeChat and Ren Suo realized that Qiao Muyi’s WeChat username was “Xiao Qiao”. He quickly recalled the message he saw previously. Isn’t that the person who was boasting in the group…
Now that Ren Suo had gotten Qiao Muyi’s WeChat contact, he knew that he would soon get the opportunity to retrieve the key from her, but he did not need it urgently anyway. He went home eagerly and turned on his Mini Worlds Gaming Console.
Before he left home, Ren Suo had discovered a new setting of the game console. He had pondered hard over how he should make use of the setting as he was on the way home, and now, he could not wait to try it out!
Ren Suo held the game controller in his hand and the moment he turned the game console on, he knew what he wanted—
He liked feeling the excitement of looking forward to playing games on the game console. He liked feeling the thrill of wrecking his brains to successfully complete the game. He liked feeling the presence of the game console linked to him at every moment!
And this was the secret between him and the Mini Worlds Gaming Console.
This was what Ren Suo truly wanted. He hoped that he could keep his secret with the game console forever.
He wanted to continue playing on the game console.
He did not want to give this opportunity to anyone else!
“So I guess I’m still a selfish kid after all…” Ren Suo mumbled to himself.
Unless he met with other special circumstances, it was unlikely that Ren Suo would reconsider his decision. But for now, with the emergence of Reiki, when everyone was still finding their way through the unknown, Ren Suo decided that he should fulfill his selfish desires first.
He wanted to become…the world’s only player!
“Mini worlds of endless fun await!”