"This haunted house refuses to serve cultivators!? Why!"
On March 3rd, Sunday, at Lianjiang City's Joyous World amusent park, Gu Yueyan looked at the notice outside the horror house and said indignantly, "This is discrimination!"
After March 2nd, a day designated for 'Little Jiu,' everyone welcod March 3rd, marked as 'shared'—a day when everyone was available, including Little Jiu.
After several near-confrontational discussions, everyone reluctantly gave up the idea of monopolizing the day and honestly planned so normal activities.
Like going to an amusent park.
The decision to go to the amusent park wasn't spur of the mont but was made after multiple people voted. Since it was a group activity, the more the rrier, so Ren Suo also invited Bai Ji and Zhao Huo. There was no need to invite Yu Kuangtu and Li Dan because if Qiao Muyi could co, it ant the two of them had to be on duty at the Tactical Bureau.
During the discussion, Gu Yueyan, Lin Xianyu, Bai Ji, and Zhao Huo all coincidentally agreed with the suggestion to go to the amusent park, as none of them had visited Joyous World before and all wanted to.
"Because the amusent park suspects that cultivators would casually slap ghosts to smithereens," Lin Xianyu replied, pulling out her phone and pointing to an announcent from Joyous World—'For the safety of our ghost actors and other employees, all haunted houses in the "I Have A Horror House" series at Joyous World do not serve any Transcendents. We ask for your understanding.'
"Fear stems from not being in control of oneself or one's surroundings. Normal people without weapons choose to flee when terrified, but we cultivators might choose to fight back—naturally, the haunted house wouldn't take that risk," Ren Suo said with a faint smile.
Bai Ji, wrapped in a coat and scarf and holding a map, suggested, "It's a holiday and quite crowded today, so let's start with the rides. Hmm, there are fewer people by the Ten Rings Roller Coaster, so let's queue there first."
At that mont, Dong Chengling, Little Jiu, and Ren Xingi ca over carrying snacks. Before they reached him, Ren Suo heard Black Cat's ows. He went over to unzip Little Jiu's backpack and picked up the cat, letting her choose from three flavors of ice cream—she chose durian ice cream.
Dong Chengling frowned slightly and complained, "Everything here is so expensive."
Having hardly ever visited attractions, Dong Chengling had serious doubts about the cost-effectiveness of goods in such places.
Ren Suo chuckled, "And they're not very delicious. The noodles we just had can't compare to the beef brisket Zhajiangmian you made."
"Why don't you head to the supermarket near the academy to grab so snacks for us?" Qiao Muyi suggested, munching on a portion of Whirlwind Potatoes.
Only she would suggest Dong Chengling use her powerful Space Movent Spell for such trivial matters. Others wouldn't dare voice such a thought—it was like asking to borrow a friend's 22 Dark Sword just to slice so salted fish.
Dong Chengling thought about it seriously, then shook her head. "The campus supermarket doesn't have this kind of food. Although these uniquely-shaped, attractive fried snacks aren't healthy and offer poor value for money, they create 'atmosphere' just like the surrounding balloons, music, and mascots."
"Exactly," Qiao Muyi agreed with a smile. "When you're out having fun, the atmosphere is very important. Besides, we're not penniless. If we still worried about saving money while out, that'd be too dull."
Lin Xianyu, who was vying with Little Jiu for takoyaki balls, imdiately disagreed, "Sister Qiao, we are still kids! Our money should be spent on buying stationery and study materials—we are poor students! We don't have money!"
"Don't worry," Ren Xingi assured with a smile. "This ti, all the admission and al expenses are on my brother."
Lin Xianyu blinked. "Really?"
Ren Suo nodded. Claiming it was his treat wasn't a problem. Since Ren Suo had entrusted all his savings to his sister, and his sister was in charge of all expenses for the trip, it naturally counted as his treat as well.
Entrusting his savings to his sister wasn't a result of Ren Suo's rational decision. In fact, when Ren Suo was on the Didra Plane and learned that his sister had almost achieved financial independence through investnts, the thought had already crossed his mind: I must hold fast to my sister, this golden thigh!
Ren Suo had no investnt knowledge to speak of; at most, he had learned the four-word truth of "buy low, sell high" from managent gas. However, this goes against human nature—buy low ans you want what nobody else does, and sell high ans you don't want what everyone else is clamoring for.
Therefore, in reality, there's only "chasing highs and slashing lows," and those who attempt to "buy low, sell high" all end up as leeks.
The Ren Suo of the past was very self-aware in this regard. Even when the revival of spiritual energy caused stock market fluctuations and the Science and Technology Innovation Board erged, he still conscientiously earned his fixed salary.
Even the current Ren Suo, if he wished to partake in the financial ga on his own, would need at least half a year of training and learning. Instead of starting from scratch, it was better to entrust all his money to his sister, who already had the necessary experience and track record.
Of course, it was possible that after Ren Suo obtained the Door of Truth, he would naturally achieve complete freedom.
But he couldn't pin all his hopes on this ga. Instead, he needed to ensure that no matter what happened, he could still earn a profit. Therefore, after setting aside a certain amount for living expenses, Ren Suo entrusted all his remaining money to his sister for investnt operations.
Correspondingly, his sister naturally took care of these larger expenditures.
"Really?" Zhao Huo, who was beside them, said in surprise. "I'm finally going to take advantage of Ren Suo?"
Having successfully snatched the last takoyaki ball, Lin Xianyu gave Ren Suo a quick glance. "...Thanks, Big Brother Ren."
There's a problem.
From the decrease in Lin Xianyu's Truth Points, Ren Suo knew there was a problem with her.
Upon self-reflection, Ren Suo didn't find any issues in his interaction with Lin Xianyu, nor did he think he was the problem. He was no longer the Ren Suo who often made mistakes.
However, Lin Xianyu's affection value had dropped, and Ren Suo could only conclude that the problem lay with Lin Xianyu. Given that won's emotional factors tend to weigh more heavily, Ren Suo speculated that Lin Xianyu might have lowered her fondness for him due to personal feelings or other reasons.
For example, it was possible that Lin Xianyu dreamt about Ren Suo stealing her food, and after waking up, she secretly held a grudge against him.
Having confird that he had not behaved inappropriately towards Lin Xianyu, Ren Suo no longer pondered their emotional issues. He only hoped to stop Lin Xianyu's affection value from dropping further through joint activities.
As long as he cleared the ga levels in the Door of Truth, Lin Xianyu's affection value would naturally rise.
At that ti...
After enjoying so snacks and resting for a while, everyone started to queue for the rides. They first tackled the Ten Rings Roller Coaster and the Drop Tower as appetizers, and then moved on to the Vertical Roller Coaster, which had the longest queue.
"Why do I feel like I've ridden these before?" Zhao Huo, sitting on the roller coaster, was sowhat puzzled. "Next, we slowly ascend to the highest point, hang in the air for three seconds to scare us, then WHOOSH! We accelerate to maximum speed and plumt vertically... Just as I thought!"
Ren Suo, wearing a mask, was unaffected by the airflow and asked with a smile, "Have you been here before?"
"No." After the roller coaster entered a gentler section, Zhao Huo continued, "Soone in the club seed to organize a trip to Joyous World before, but I don't think I went."
"You think?"
Zhao Huo seed bewildered for a mont, but soon everyone was once again being whisked up and down by the roller coaster, their minds going blank. By the ti they ca to their senses, the roller coaster had already carried them to the exit.
They continued to explore other amusent park attractions. While navigating through the park, Qiao Muyi suddenly asked, "Bai Ji, have you been here before?"
"No."
"But you're too competent as a guide," Qiao Muyi glanced at the nearby crowd and said. "We haven't gotten lost at all, and the rides you chose almost never required us to wait in line. Even when we did queue, we'd conveniently pass by a snack stand to buy sothing to eat, making the boring wait more tolerable…"
"I just did so howork and planned the route in advance," Bai Ji laughed. "After all, soone treated us this ti, so I figured I should repay the favor in this way."
"Bai Ji's girlfriend will definitely be very happy," Ren Suo praised at the perfect mont.
Gu Yueyan, Qiao Muyi, Dong Chengling, and Ren Xingi heard this and secretly nodded in approval.
Bai Ji looked at Ren Suo, thought for a mont, then nodded reservedly in agreent.
After dining at the castle restaurant that night, their group first visited the Alien Spaceship for so fun, then went to the International Circus Grand Theatre to watch the grand circus performance, "Sci-Fi Legend II."
During this circus show, there was a scene where perforrs stood on a car that crashed into a wall, creating a spectacular explosion effect that left the audience marveling.
However, Zhao Huo said thoughtfully, "Isn't he supposed to lift the car and throw it?"
Lin Xianyu also chid in, "Right, right, shouldn't he be throwing a burning car at the audience?"
Ren Xingi asked curiously, "Have you seen this performance before? Did it have a part like that previously?"
"I haven't seen it," Lin Xianyu shook her head, "but I just feel like that kind of scene should happen…"
By the ti the circus show ended, it was 9 p.m. Dong Chengling, not wanting to waste ti commuting, directly teleported everyone back to Heavenly Lotus Academy and then dropped Qiao Muyi off in the city. Even Dong Chengling, who had firmly reached Fourth-Rank Cultivation, was slightly out of breath after such a large-scale teleportation.
Ren Suo asked the others to go back first, and he used Miraculous Hands Rejuvenation to provide Mana Replenishnt for Dong Chengling. But once the others had left, Black Cat Luna promptly changed back into her human form and clung to Ren Suo, wanting to play with him. Dong Chengling and Qiao Muyi's education of Luna was showing early results; Luna now knew to make sure her clothing also changed when she transford.
Half an hour later, Ren Suo left Dong Chengling's ho. When he arrived at the dormitory building, he saw a tall figure standing by the lake across from it.
Ren Suo slightly raised an eyebrow and approached quietly. Only when he was behind Zhao Huo did he suddenly speak, "Zhao Huo."
Zhao Huo was startled, but upon seeing Ren Suo, he quickly relaxed. "What are you doing here?"
"I saw you here, so I ca over to have a look." Ren Suo squatted by the lake bank, gazing at the surface. There was no moon tonight, and the lake water looked pitch-black, as if monsters lurked within. "Thinking really doesn't suit your face," he said.
"It's more like worries!" Zhao Huo retorted, then sighed. "I've just been dealing with so troubles lately. Not really worries, just a bit unsure about how to decide…"
"Do you want to tell ?"
"I don't."
"Then there's no need to tell ," Ren Suo said indifferently. "There are many things one has to solve on their own, and many responsibilities one has to bear alone. Comfort from others is often superfluous… However, if you really want soone to talk to, I don't mind keeping a few more secrets."
Zhao Huo was taken aback for a mont, then nodded. "Thanks."
He suddenly smiled. "Ren Suo, you seem to have changed."
"For the better or for the worse?"
"You've beco quite the ani fan."
Even the current Ren Suo couldn't determine if Zhao Huo was mocking or complinting him. He didn't stay any longer but chose to leave to give Zhao Huo so space, saying, "If you can't say it in person, you can chat online. After all, you can't use emoticons in real life."
Zhao Huo waved his hand, picked up a pebble, and skimd it across the lake.
Ren Suo knew that Zhao Huo was waiting for the woman he had t the night before, but he didn't point it out. Instead, he quickly went ho, summoned his clone, and handed his phone to it.
"House chores, cleaning, switch the WeChat account to 'Xiao Suo'. As soon as Zhao Huo sends a ssage, reply according to my predetermined logic," Ren Suo instructed his clone. Then, he put on Pandora's Box and entered the ga Door of Truth.
Dong Chengling gained 80 Truth Points.
Qiao Muyi gained 40 Truth Points.
Gu Yueyan gained 70 Truth Points.
Ren Xingi gained 50 Truth Points.
Bai Ji gained 180 Truth Points.
Ren Xiaojiu gained 100 Truth Points.
Luna gained 120 Truth Points.
Lin Xianyu lost 1 Truth Point.
Added Zhao Huo (Ren Suo)'s friendship, worth 190 Truth Points.
Added Zhao Huo (Xiao Suo)'s friendship, worth 140 Truth Points.
The experint was successful.
Xiao Suo was the female persona Ren Suo had created the night before, using A Different Life to change his appearance and Wangshu Flow Immortal to switch into won's clothes. This identity was specifically created by Ren Suo for experinting with new spells he had obtained from the ga.
The previous night, he had exchanged for Kadell's awakened spell, Concentration, which allowed him to build up force over a long period to deliver a fearso attack.
While he was experinting, he ran into Zhao Huo, who was drawn by the noise. Ren Suo, having anticipated this, naturally exchanged contact information with Zhao Huo and then quickly left.
When I switch to a different identity, the emotional relationships associated with my second identity don't overlap with the first one but are calculated separately.
And when I sell soone's feelings, from their perspective, their relationship with hasn't changed at all. The only change is in my own feelings and perception.
As long as I interact with the person according to a pre-written mo during daily interactions, I can cultivate the friendship anew. It's simpler than establishing a new relationship and more effortless than deepening an old one.
Last night I sold my friendship with Zhao Huo. Today, by following the guide and interacting with Zhao Huo normally, I can generate new feelings…
An almost endless, infinitely renewable resource. Ren Suo looked at the nas on the emotion exchange list, a flicker of understanding dawning in his mind. Rather than selling, it's more like... harvesting.
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