Apocalyptic Wasteland Simulator

Chapter 25: Experiment! Mysterious Black Stone
[You ecstatically take over the genetics company.]

[Looking at the stubble-faced, middle-aged man before you, you have many questions you want to ask him.]

[However, due to your physical form, you cannot communicate properly and can only gesticulate awkwardly.]

[After several hours of attempted communication, you give up completely. You start to miss your pride and joy; if it were here, it would probably be a better conversationalist than you.]

[Having gained nothing from the survivor, you turn your attention elsewhere. You begin collecting files, computer components, memory chips, hard drives, and other items within the company.]

[You bundle them all into a large package.]

[Your strange behavior catches the middle-aged man’s attention. His face lights up with ecstasy, and he repeatedly shouts that his master’s experiment was a success.]

[Then, fearlessly, he begins to circle you, examining you with abrupt intensity.]

[Seeing the man’s idiotic behavior, the deep-seated brutality and bloodlust within you can no longer be contained. All you want to do now is devour him, alive and whole.]

[You launch an attack, first lifting him up and slamming him violently into the wall.]

[You realize he is not dead.]

[He coughs up mouthfuls of blood, yet his expression is bizarrely cheerful as he just grins at you.]

[His gaze unnerves you. You despise this kind of smile. You dismember him and, in a moment of dark sincerity, tear out his heart and lungs.]

Seeing this, Chen Pingchuan slapped his forehead and gave a bitter smile. My simulated self was already eccentric enough. With the added influence of the dark-attribute talents, the fact that he could still act somewhat human and collect things was already a surprise. But then this male survivor just had to show up and provoke him. Wasn’t he just asking for a swift death?

”Wait a minute!”

Chen Pingchuan’s gaze shifted back up the text, and he quickly found what he was looking for.

He said, ’the master’s experiment was a success.’ And there was the Blood Beast Ban the little girl mentioned earlier... so, is it possible that... Chen Pingchuan muttered to himself as he wrote his speculations down on a piece of paper.

Suspicion One: The faction known as the Blood Beast Ban is conducting an inhuman experiment. Although he had notified the various powers within the country, their test subjects were likely the ordinary people in the outer city districts. That would explain why Xia Qingxue knew about it, why the little girl knew about it, and why this unnamed middle-aged man also knew about it. And the ordinary people infected by the red rain became the sole victims of this experiment.

”By what right?”

Anger welled up in Chen Pingchuan, and he secretly added this faction’s name to his little black book.

He continued writing.

Experiment’s purpose: Unknown.

Method: Somewhat similar to the artificial rainfall of his previous life, except this rain is the color of blood.

Location: The outer districts of Spring City. It’s unknown if there are other test sites besides Spring City. The answer might be obtainable in the next simulation.

After writing all this down, he took a new page and wrote four large words: Become Stronger, Uncover Secrets.

Chen Pingchuan resumed the simulation.

[After venting your rage, you regain a measure of sanity.]

[Looking at the tender flesh before you, you lick your lips, discovering that your tongue can now reach your own forehead.]

[An emotion called hunger begins to erode your will.]

[You quickly flee the building and find a meat processing plant. Unfortunately, due to the power outage, the raw meat in the freezers has spoiled, emitting a powerful stench.]

[You face a trilemma: continue to starve, find another survivor for a hearty meal, or make do with the spoiled meat.]

[A surprisingly philosophical thought pops into your head: Just make do... I can’t just starve myself to death, right?]

”Thank goodness.”

Chen Pingchuan let out a small sigh of relief. Even though my simulated self is vile, he still has some humanity left. If he had actually chosen the second option... Chen Pingchuan hurriedly shook his head, not daring to imagine it.

[You discover that the slightly rancid meat isn’t actually that bad, so you eagerly devour the contents of two entire freezers.]

[Your hunger and thirst sated, you leave the meat processing plant and continue to roam the city, searching for high-grade gene enhancers to increase your power.]

[You find nothing for half a month.]

[Although you didn’t find any high-grade gene potions, you did receive two pieces of good news.]

[The first piece of good news: you’ve found a university town called Spring City’s Strongest Genetic Transformation Academy.]

[The name sounds familiar. You sneer at its creator, mocking them as an illiterate with terrible naming sense.]

[The second piece of good news: the Black Demons in the city have started turning on each other due to a lack of food.]

[By constantly observing their patterns, you discover that all the Black Demons fighting each other have mysterious black stones inside them.]

[This time, you don’t just act as a referee; you personally join the slaughter and are rewarded with two mysterious black stones.]

[Since you have no fear of death, you certainly aren’t afraid of an upset stomach. You swallow both mysterious black stones whole.]

[You feel a current of heat surging through your body, eventually flowing into your brain.]

[Once this heat enters your brain, it feels like a clear spring, suppressing all your negative urges like brutality, bloodlust, and the desire to kill.]

[You’re walking on air!]

[The constant, blissful sensation flooding your soul is intoxicating, making you feel as if you could fly.]

[You begin hunting Black Demons that carry the mysterious black stones.]

[After some time, your Spirit has improved so much you feel like a god; you can stay up all night without feeling the slightest bit of fatigue.]

[Your physical body is strengthening at a rapid pace.]

[Your eyesight sharpens, allowing you to see farther. Your sense of smell is enhanced, enabling you to detect the distinct pheromones emitted by different creatures. Your digestive and chewing powers are also increasing—your fangs can now pierce metal.]

[Your progress in strength is just as astounding, and your speed is now lightning-fast. You’ve become the most dazzling thing in the city.]

When I was human, getting stronger was a matter of months or even years. How can I evolve at such an unreasonable speed now that I’m a monster? Chen Pingchuan was puzzled by the progress of his Black Demon form in the simulation.

”Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

According to what I learned in my past life, rapid growth always comes at a great cost. This kind of endless evolution must have terrifying side effects.

Chen Pingchuan flipped back a few pages in his notebook, and sure enough, he found a clue in the records of a previous simulation.

The notebook recorded the following sentence: ”Death in the second simulation. Cause of death: Infected by the Red Rain and mutated into a Black Demon. Died after half a year of frenzied slaughter as consciousness faded.”

Since the text specifically mentions slaughtering for half a year, there must be a reason for it. Could it mean that I was suffering a backlash from consuming too many of those mysterious black stones?

Chen Pingchuan wrote a large question mark next to this hypothesis. His intense focus on the mysterious black stones wasn’t for his own sake. It was all because of his worrywart of a ”dog son.” Worrying about its eating, drinking, and sleeping habits had truly taken a toll on this old ”father’s” heart. And these mysterious black stones might be the perfect food for Black Demon No. 1.

Eager to find out if the mysterious black stones had side effects, Chen Pingchuan refocused his mind and continued the simulation.