His fingers glided over the Hell 4PRO Gaming Console, which looked like a piece of art. Ren Suo placed it next to another unmarked, circular game machine, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.
The Hell 4PRO Gaming Console was square, its front adorned with the Hell Corporation's trademark. It resembled four square boxes stacked on top of each other at a slightly inclined angle.
The Hell 4 Gaming Console looked like three stacked boxes, and the Hell 4PRO appeared to have four. Because of this, this generation was dubbed the "True Hell Gaming Console" online, symbolizing three or four layers of Hell. Some netizens had even used photo editing software to create an image of a supposed Hell 18th Gen Gaming Console—which, indeed, was depicted as eighteen boxes stacked together.
The Hell 4PRO Gaming Console came with everything: an HDMI video output cable, an original power cable, an original USB cable, a Hell Corporation exclusive wireless Bluetooth controller, an original gaming headset, and the user manual.
This was the gaming console set Ren Suo had envisioned.
The other circular gaming machine—or more accurately, the black cylindrical object—was completely beyond Ren Suo's imagination.
He had no idea what this thing was for or how to use it.
If the Hell 4PRO Gaming Console was a stack of four boxes, then the circular game machine was like over a hundred circular plates piled up.
No logos, no cables, no controllers—it had nothing. It was practically an unidentifiable product, lacking any branding or official markings.
When put next to the Hell 4PRO, the circular game machine was as subdued as a kebab-loving billionaire. Indeed, even Ren Suo, with his straightforward male aesthetics, thought the circular game machine looked much better than the Hell 4PRO.
The glossy black exterior, with its crystal-clear, shell-like casing, was truly a sight to behold. Even if he eventually deemed it useless, he would still keep it at home as a decorative piece, as it certainly looked imposing enough to fool people.
However, after fiddling with it for a few more minutes without finding a power button, he completely lost patience. He set it aside and turned his attention back to the Hell 4PRO.
When Ren Suo took the game controller out of its box, the indicator light on the wireless Bluetooth controller suddenly lit up blue.
Simultaneously, a blue light emerged from the center of the circular game machine he had set aside. The device began emitting a faint operational hum, and the wall-mounted TV in the living room suddenly turned on by itself.
Bewildered, Ren Suo watched as countless strange and dazzling colors flickered across the TV, eventually coalescing into a blue sphere. A crisp and cheerful voice came from within, proclaiming:
"Endless Fun in the Mini World!"
Ren Suo looked down at the Hell Game Company controller in his hand, then at the circular game machine with no connecting cables, and finally at the Xiaomi LCD TV that had turned on automatically.
He muttered in confusion, "How can a Hell Game controller connect to this unidentified game machine? And how did this machine link up to the TV?"
Suddenly, the screen went black, displaying new information:
"Wireless Bluetooth Controller 'Hell 4th Gen Pro Game Controller' detected, now automatically connected."
"4K Video Player 'Xiaomi L55M5-AB' detected, now automatically connected."
"Dear Player, welcome to the Mini-World Game Console. Endless Fun in the Mini World."
"Since you are using this product for the first time, please register for a World account."
A rectangular frame appeared. Ren Suo was intrigued. This Mini-World Game Console is impressive, he thought. It can wirelessly connect to a Hell Company controller and a Xiaomi TV, and it's full of futuristic 'black technology' vibes. But as a die-hard gamer, why haven't I heard of this console before?
The name suggests it might be developed by a domestic game manufacturer, but most domestic gaming consoles turn out to be duds...
Could it be a prototype for a new gaming console? But why was it sent to me?
Ren Suo now carefully inspected the package of the Mini-World Game Console. He found that the recipient's name was indeed his, and the address was correct as well. The only odd thing was the sender's name, which he had never seen before—Naiser Company.
Ren Suo searched online for the company but found absolutely no information about it. However, he didn't dwell on this and turned his head to look at the TV, which was still at the stage of prompting him to register a World account.
"Name? Hmm? Can I directly use Xuan Wen phonetics?" Ren Suo was slightly surprised. He remembered that Hell 4PRO personal accounts could only use English. It seems this gaming console must be domestically produced. Fully utilizing Xuan Wen would be a considerable advantage for players from the Mysterious Country who had long been tormented by English and Japanese interfaces.
As for a name, Ren Suo didn't fuss over it.
He was also quite adept at the skill of choosing registration names. To quickly identify which service had leaked his information from spam emails and text messages, he would use the company's name as his own.
For example, when registering a Penguin Communications account, he'd register as Ren Penguin; for a Nine Cities Game account, he'd register as Ren Nine Cities—simple and crude.
Originally, I had planned to name the account for the game console I bought 'Ren Hell'. If Xuan Wen wasn't usable, I'd just use English.
But this console isn't from Hell Game Company; it's the 'Mini-World Game Console'.
Should I call myself Ren World?
Ren Suo recalled that the sender of this gaming console was 'Naiser Company.' Naiser Company must be the distributor of this console, at the very least, right? So, using their name shouldn't be an issue, should it?
Thus, Ren Suo named himself "Ren Naiser."
The Mini-World Game Console suddenly emitted a red light. It aimed at Ren Suo, who was holding the controller, scanned his entire body, and made him jump. At that moment, the screen displayed:
"Soul information and body information have been recorded. Besides Ren Naiser, no other conscious entity will be able to use this product."
"Ren Naiser, Level 1 Player, welcome to the Mini World, where the fun never ends!"
Then, the console's main interface appeared. Ren Suo saw no games on the screen, only a background of Earth amidst a sky twinkling with stars. He could even identify any planet in the Solar System directly from the background image. The background music was soothing and relaxing, quickly calming him.
This interface isn't bad, Ren Suo thought. So, what games are there? Where do I add funds to buy games?
On the screen, there were two very large square options: "World Store" and "What Should You Do Now?"
Ren Suo chose "What Should You Do Now?" and a prompt appeared:
"You'd best go to the World Store and play this week's free game."
"There's a free game too?" Ren Suo was a bit surprised. He remembered that Hell Game members also got free games every month, but Hell Game membership itself required payment.
And with this Mini-World Game Console, I get a free game just by registering, without adding any funds yet?
But it's probably just a very common little game, like a box-pusher or something...
Ren Suo entered the "World Store" and found it empty, with only "Free Game of the Month" and "Search." When he selected "Search," a prompt suddenly appeared:
"Searching once costs 10 Merit Points. You're too broke to afford it."
Ren Suo stared in bewilderment, only then noticing that his Merit Points balance, displayed in the upper right corner, was 0.
Ren Suo complained, "The currency for this game platform is Merit Points? But you still have to tell me where to add funds! And this prompt is a bit too blunt, isn't it?" He then selected "Free Game of the Month." After a three-second loading time, a very cool-looking game appeared on the screen—