The Rebel's Determination Value was rising.
As the Rebel followed Friend Z towards the Secret Realm Dungeon Portal, his empty Determination ter slowly began to fill. By the ti the Rebel had passed through a large portion of the Multidinsional Plane Exchange eting and squeezed into a group of strong figures, the Determination Value had already reached 50%.
Ren Suo now naturally knew that the so-called Determination Value was the 'Morale' that determined whether the Rebel would follow his commands in the face of danger. Only when the Determination Value reached 100% would the Rebel be completely under his control, going wherever he pointed.
Even though the Rebel now obediently submitted to Ren Suo's control, if the Rebel sensed danger, Ren Suo's ga controller wouldn't be enough to keep him in check.
But unlike the first challenge, why was it so easy for to raise the Determination Value now? Was it the bonus accumulated from the first challenge, or had the Rebel resigned to his fate?
However, up to this point, the mission target information hadn't popped up. Instead, the Strategy Tip updated:
"Strategy Tip: Please clear the Secret Realm Dungeon with Friend Z."
The Rebel had already been taken by Friend Z to tackle the dungeon. Ren Suo naturally didn't make any other moves, letting the Rebel et with other team mbers and wait outside the Secret Realm Dungeon Portal.
It wasn't until they got closer that they realized outsiders could see what was happening inside the Secret Realm Dungeon Portal. It appeared to be a group of people in strange clothing fighting ferociously. It was a battle of explosive force and intensity that the humans and strong figures outside watched with cheers:
"Atomic Fla! Such imnse power!"
"Dawn Star, it's actually Dawn Star! I didn't expect to witness such an incredible battle!"
"The Ice Age, the Great Burn! Too strong!"
"The Phantom Group is truly powerful!"
The spectating crowd ntioned so terms that Ren Suo couldn't understand, but he generally got the idea that the team currently fighting was very strong.
At that mont, Friend Z said, "I didn't expect there to be such a powerful team... Now it's up to you and to deal damage, Rebel. The main thing in the Secret Realm Dungeon is to accumulate Popularity Energy; our performance has to look magnificent and splendid—simply clearing it isn't enough."
"Strategy Tip: Please make the Secret Realm battle attract enough Popularity Energy."
Ren Suo scratched his head. Why aren't the missions refreshing, yet the Strategy Tips keep updating?
But in just these few short sentences, the Rebel's Determination Value had risen by another 10%. Although Ren Suo couldn't gather enough information from the Secret Realm battle and Friend Z's conversation, it seed the Rebel had learned sothing that made his Determination Value steadily increase.
However, the wait turned out to be a full fifteen minutes. Had Cloning not been on cooldown, Ren Suo would've considered sending it to buy so supper. Now, all he could do was brew a cup of instant noodles for himself.
「After fifteen minutes」
The team inside the Secret Realm finally left, and it was the Rebel and Friend Z's turn to go in.
Then... the Rebel's group went in.
But the point of view is still here at the Multidinsional Plane Exchange eting! Why am I not allowed to take control yet? What am I supposed to play? Am I just going to watch the Secret Realm Portal screen from across a dinsion?
At that mont, the surrounding crowd made various comnts:
"Not bad..."
"Not as good as the Phantom Group, but still quite enjoyable."
"Why not go to the Mysterious rchant instead? Tenacity Spheres are 20% off!"
The crowd outside the Secret Realm Dungeon gradually thinned out. Ren Suo blinked but remained motionless, quietly waiting for the situation to unfold.
「About five minutes later」
The Rebel's group cleared the Secret Realm Dungeon and ca out. Friend Z looked at the audience below and sighed, "It seems we didn't gather enough Popularity Energy... Even though our battle was so extravagant and pleasing..."
At that mont, the entire scene shuddered as if there was an earthquake!
"What's happening?!"
"What's going on outside?!"
"AAAAHHH!"
The exchange eting was in chaos. But as Ren Suo surveyed the situation, he didn't see any enemies appear, nor had the battle spread to the conference area. It seed as though the sudden change had nothing to do with the Rebel.
At that mont, the Rebel suddenly spoke up, "It seems dangerous outside. How about we just stay here?"
Friend Z·Silver Armored General said, "Sure, sure! Let's wait for further news before we act!"
Ren Suo's eyes widened as he tried to control the Rebel to leave the eting venue, but the Rebel stubbornly refused to move, lazing around the venue and unwilling to follow his commands!
Rebel·Painted Face Man said, "Avaricious n die for riches; warriors die for fa. Each sees the other as avaricious, and themselves as warriors."
Rebel·Painted Face Man declared, "I still want to live another five hundred years!"
Rebel·Painted Face Man philosophized, "Life is like the ocean; only those with strong will who haven't died can reach the other shore."
Damn it, this Rebel has actually chickened out! He's refusing to go out and see what's happening, all the while spouting a bunch of nonsense to justify himself!
Before long, the ga displayed a notification:
"The quest target has died."
"Quest failed."
"You didn't even find the quest target. Your loss is so pathetic it's laughable."
"Do you want to experience the pleasure before the pain all over again? (Requires 3 rit Points)"
The cost to restart the ga had gone up. However, Ren Suo didn't care about such a trivial expense. He rubbed his temples, noting down the key strategic points for this level.
In fact, there aren't really any key strategic points. The second stage hasn't even properly started, yet the Rebel is already too scared to go out, and the quest target hasn't even appeared. I have no idea how I failed.
According to the Strategy Tips, what Ren Suo needed to do now was to attract enough popularity for the Rebel's group during their 'Secret Realm Dungeon' battle.
Although I don't know what good that will do... Ren Suo had no other ideas at the mont, so he restarted the second stage and continued to work on his strategy.
The initial steps were very quick and simple. The Rebel's group still had to wait 15 minutes before they could start their run in the Secret Realm Dungeon.
By then, the Phantom Group's battle had finished, and another team was entering the Secret Realm battle. Ren Suo ate his instant noodles while carefully watching the details on the screen.
"Huh? Is that my favorite Azure Group fighting?"
Two passersby joined the crowd of onlookers, watching the battle within the Secret Realm Portal together.
Seeing this, an idea struck Ren Suo. He moved the control cursor and randomly clicked on a passerby, causing four options to pop up:
"Approach the Rebel's location (costs 1 rit Point)"
"Move away from the Rebel's location (costs 1 rit Point)"
"Approach the Rebel's location and stay for about 5 minutes (costs 2 rit Points)"
"Approach the Rebel's location and stay for about 15 minutes (costs 2 rit Points)"
Only then did the Strategy Tip belatedly update:
"Strategy Tip: You can artificially control the flow of people to ensure that the Rebel gets enough Popularity Energy during battle (the more people watch, the higher the Popularity Energy)."
If you wanted to spend Krypton Gold, you should've just said so. Did you think I wouldn't pay?
Ren Suo tugged at the corner of his mouth and began the tedious task of controlling one passerby character after another. He made them approach the Rebel for an extended period, essentially having them linger in the area outside the Secret Realm Portal to boost the Rebel's Popularity Energy.
However, there was a catch: the passersby undoubtedly didn't know the Rebel. They might approach the Rebel's area simply because they were interested in the Secret Realm battle, so the player's subtle control had a chance of success.
As for those passersby or strong figures who had no interest in Secret Realm battles, most only had the first two options—they didn't even have the option to make them stay outside the Secret Realm Dungeon.
It was at this mont that Ren Suo finally understood why there was a 15-minute waiting period in the ga. Besides the in-ga realism of the Rebel's group having to queue for the dungeon, it was mainly to give Ren Suo ti to gather a crowd.
Simply put, it was to make Ren Suo spend rit Points and ti to hire a "rcenary audience."
By the ti the Rebel's group entered the dungeon, the crowd outside the Secret Realm Portal had grown several circles larger than before. The scene was so impressive it seed half the attendees of the exchange eting had co to watch!
Of course, only a small portion of these were the "rcenary audience" Ren Suo had paid for. Many more were drawn because Ren Suo had chosen to control several elegant and distinguished-looking strong figures. These figures were very eye-catching; when they also ca over to watch the Secret Realm battle, other commoners naturally followed.
Like a snowball rolling downhill, it gathered more and more people. The ordinary folk didn't know what was happening but assud there was so benefit, so they all followed. Ultimately, this created the grand scene before them!
Ren Suo sighed in relief upon seeing this. This ti, it should be fine.
However, when the Rebel's group began fighting, the comnts from the spectators were not so harmonious:
"Hmm... It's diocre."
"What dinsion is this battle style from? Never seen it before. So cliché."
"Let's go back to the Mysterious rchant. Exquisite Hearts are 30% off there."
It seed the Rebel's group's battle performance indeed wasn't spectacular, drawing only average reviews from the crowd. Since many people were not under Ren Suo's control, they were free to leave.
Before long, 30 to 40 percent of the audience had naturally dispersed!
It should be fine, right? Ren Suo was sowhat vexed, but then an unexpected event occurred. Spectators comnted:
"Did they make a mistake?"
"Their reaction speed is quite fast, but that mistake was too big."
"Looks like it's a small group's first ti challenging the Secret Realm Dungeon? No wonder..."
A system ssage then popped up: "Friend Z·Silver Armored General made a mistake in battle due to becoming overly agitated, causing the overall spectacle rating to decrease."
After the Rebel's group finished their battle and left the Secret Realm Dungeon, Friend Z looked dejected and said, "It seems we were short on Popularity Energy... It's all my fault for making that mistake... But even if I hadn't, I'm afraid... Sigh..."
Upon seeing this, Ren Suo knew it was over.
Sure enough, when tremors once again ca from outside, the Rebel adamantly refused to leave the exchange eting. The second attempt failed.
Unlike the first try, on the second attempt, Ren Suo had not only spent ti but also a considerable amount of rit Points, which now stung a bit.
He reassessed his strategy. My thod of gathering a crowd should be correct, but the Rebel's group's combat quality didn't satisfy everyone. So, regardless of whether Friend Z made a mistake or not, the outco was likely the sa—the rcenary audience I hired didn't enjoy their battle. Wait, rcenary audience...?
An idea struck Ren Suo, his eyes lighting up. After checking so information online, he had a plan, though he wasn't sure if it would work.
Upon starting the ga for the third ti, Ren Suo first chose an onlooker outside the Secret Realm Portal. Three options imdiately popped up for the spectator:
"Approach the Rebel (costs 1 rit Point)"
"Stay away from the Rebel (costs 1 rit Point)"
"Loudly voice an opinion (editable by the player) (20-character limit) (costs 3 rit Points)"
It's workable!
Determined, Ren Suo followed his plan, still using rit Points to summon a rcenary crowd around the Secret Realm Portal. However, when the Rebel's group began their dungeon challenge, Ren Suo imdiately selected an onlooker, edited their dialogue, and had them shout loudly:
"Painted Face Man is so cool!"
The Rebel doesn't seem to be known by everyone, but now that he has transford into the Painted Face Man, 'Painted Face Man' should be quite noticeable and recognizable.
One of the onlookers was shocked, "Hey, his face is all painted. How can you tell he's handso?"
The shill controlled by Ren Suo retorted, "The man is devastatingly handso! If you can't see it, you must be blind."
Then Ren Suo quickly took control of a female-presenting strong figure, "Painted Face Man, I want to have your babies! I don't mind that you're a guy; we can cross swords every night!"
Damn, it's hard to tell n from won in this ga. Why are so many guys transforming into female-looking powerhouses?
Another shill yelled, "Painted Face Man! I recognize him—that's the Rebel, isn't it! Let tell you, the Rebel is drop-dead gorgeous!"
"Rebel, I love you!"
Although this ga has many pitfalls, as long as you pay, it generally delivers. The shills controlled by Ren Suo made their comnts very loudly—evident by their very large dialogue boxes.
Due to their "passionate" reactions, other onlookers grew curious:
"Painted Face Man? Is Painted Face Man really that good-looking?"
"He is quite handso! No wonder he has so many fans!"
"Yeah, yeah, excuse , let get closer for a better look." Surprisingly, quite a few people agreed with the fervent fans' opinions.
This is the shill effect! Even if these ordinary people don't know who the Rebel or Painted Face Man is, the fervent fans in front of them create an illusion: the Painted Face Man currently fighting in the Secret Realm Dungeon seems to be a very famous person. They feel they need to go over and see if they recognize him!
As for why I chose the topic 'Rebel·Painted Face Man is a super-duper handso guy' to attract attention... it's because his face is painted! When I had the shills claim he's handso, others simply had no way to refute it. Maybe the Rebel is actually very handso when his face *isn't* painted!?
But I mostly feel the Rebel probably isn't *that* handso. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such a hard ti chatting with Her Royal Highness the Princess...
And Ren Suo's plan succeeded: the crowd of onlookers didn't shrink much, and the popularity remained high! Moreover, amidst the crowd's cheers, the Rebel had been transford into a super handso guy—a ritorious act, all things considered.
Just then, the Strategy Tip suddenly refreshed:
"Strategy Tip: Please equip the Rebel with the 'Pure White Mini Holy Grail'."
Ren Suo was slightly startled by this peculiar prompt. However, since the directive was so clear, he naturally equipped the Rebel with it.
Then, nothing particular happened. After the Rebel's group ca out, Friend Z excitedly said, "This ti, our Secret Realm Dungeon run gained a lot of Popularity Energy! We can definitely secure the most resources. Rebel, thanks for your help! We might have to run the Secret Realm Dungeon again later, and we'll have to trouble you then... Do you know her?"
Ren Suo, who had been paying attention to the dialogue box, only now noticed a small NPC, about 20 pixels tall, next to the Rebel. She looked like a little girl, only about half the Rebel's height.
She seed to be clutching the Rebel's clothes and didn't speak. Friend Z tactfully walked away.
The little girl dragged the Rebel to a less crowded area. Only after grabbing onto his clothes did she say, "I've co to play with you."
At that mont, a nickna popped up above her head:
"Phantom Girl"
And at the top of the screen, the following appeared:
"Mission Objective: Protect Phantom Girl as she fuses with the Supre Treasure. Ensure that neither the Rebel nor Phantom Girl are exposed throughout the process."
Although the mission objective had finally appeared, Ren Suo keenly noticed sothing else—
The Rebel's Determination Value, after eting the little girl, had suddenly skyrocketed, instantly reaching 100%!
Well, well, Rebel. You, with your honest-looking bushy brows and big eyes, turn out to be a lolicon, huh?
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