Apocalyptic Wasteland Simulator

Chapter 104 - 101: Change! Divine Self Awakening
[You find Belia’s reaction peculiar. Although your intimacy level is high, it doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with her. There must be some hidden reasons you are unaware of.][Indeed, with your patient guidance, Belia tells you her entire past. Your relationship advances further, reaching the level of close comrades-in-arms. You unlock the ’Loli Abductor’ achievement.]

[Belia’s character summary can be viewed.]

”Is this ever going to end?” Chen Pingchuan grumbled aloud. ”Can you stop with all this weird stuff? You’re supposed to be a proper simulator. We just have a host-system relationship, so please don’t cross the line.”

Voicing his complaints about the simulator’s impropriety was one of his few remaining pastimes. Ever since acquiring the simulator, he had found himself growing increasingly estranged from the outside world. Anything he needed to know, he could learn through simulation. It truly made him feel like an omniscient god, which also pushed him further and further away from other people.

”Alright, expand it. I want to see just what the deal is with this little loli who’s beaten me twice.”

Belia: Character Card Level is Yellow, one-in-a-millennium.

Position: City Lord of Spring City in Kailing Province (also known as the City of No Night).

Personality: Impulsive, irritable, antisocial, emotionally unstable.

Aspiration: Sincere emotions.

Life History: Lost her mother at a young age and was raised by her father. She consistently ranked first in her class throughout her schooling. At age 20, she went to the Great Ming Empire’s top surface-world institution, the Genetic Transformation Academy, for advanced study. An accident occurred during her transformation process. While she gained immense strength and potential, her body permanently regressed to that of a 10-year-old child. She also suffered a minor decline in her mental faculties and awakened the rare skill of telepathy.

Telepathy: The ability to perceive the true emotions of others. No one can lie to her, except for a god.

Having awakened her genetic talent, Belia successfully advanced to level seven and returned to the City of No Night. However, upon her arrival, she discovered that her father was already dead. The culprit acted with such secrecy that no clues could be found, and it seemed like everyone around her was lying. As a result, the radically changed Belia flew into a rage and chose to conduct a bloodbath in the City of No Night. All high-ranking city officials were subjected to a bloody purge. From that day on, the city’s established, powerful families have lived in deep-seated terror.

Chen Pingchuan thoughtfully read Belia’s biography. While it lacked many specific details, he could infer the bigger picture from what was there. This child’s psychological problems were clearly severe. No, it would be more accurate to say this young woman’s psychological problems are terrible.

With a better understanding of Belia, Chen Pingchuan continued the simulation. He had a rough idea of what his simulated self would do, but he needed to keep watching to verify his guess.

[You tell Belia that since she has decided to leave, she should pack up all her valuable treasures and take them with her. Belia looks troubled and reveals a startling fact: ever since she carried out the bloody purge years ago, the higher-ups have cut off all regular funding to the City of No Night.]

[In other words, the City of No Night under her stewardship has become a completely self-sufficient town. It was barely able to function by continuously leeching off the outer districts to maintain its dismal state of affairs, but everything changed the moment the Red Rain began to fall.]

[With no official provisions or support from the outer districts, the City of No Night is now operating at a loss. Just yesterday, to cope with the energy crisis, the high school division’s training missions were updated to include guarding the energy crystal mines.]

[It was this energy problem that led Belia to bring you to the City of No Night. She wanted to get something from you. After all, you could enter the dreams of a level-seven powerhouse like her, so she speculated that you must hold some extraordinary secret.]

[Unfortunately for her plans, she gradually became captivated by your charisma during your time together, which led to the current situation. Now that you know the inside story, you’re not satisfied. You ask her if she has any spare energy crystals.]

[Belia sounds a little disheartened. She explains that the last purple energy crystal was given to you as a gift last night. Of course, it’s impossible for a city as large as the City of No Night to have no energy crystals at all. The Energy Center downtown still stores tens of thousands of the most basic white energy crystals.]

[You probe further, asking if you can take those energy crystals. Belia hesitates but ultimately agrees to your request. You don’t actually take the crystals. To be precise, realizing you are in a simulation, you know that these simulation values cannot be absorbed by you right now.]

”Well, I’ll be damned,” Chen Pingchuan exclaimed. ”I never imagined this day would come. It really is like the saying goes: the most winding road is the one paved with your schemes. Sincerity never lasts, but a good scheme always wins hearts. I, Chen Pingchuan, am a genius!”

[Following the map you took from Wang Xing, you lead Belia out of the City of No Night through a secret passage. At that moment, a smile graces Belia’s face. You realize that she hasn’t smiled once since her failed genetic transformation.]

[Belia’s change sparks a strong curiosity in you. If the Seed of Parasitism were implanted in her body, could its healing effects cure her physical defects?]

[You don’t voice this thought to her, as now isn’t the right time. The most important task at hand is to escape Kailing Province covertly, leaving no trace behind.]

[Inside the Holy Spirit Sect’s contact point, you repeat your previous actions. When the aircraft arrives, you discreetly order Belia to kill all of them. Belia obeys your command, slaughtering every member of the Holy Spirit Sect present.]

Something’s not right! Something is very wrong!

Even after absorbing the ’Anger’ trait, Chen Pingchuan was still aware of his own personality. He knew he could never be this decisive.

Could it be that as my memories return, my divine self is reawakening as well?

Chen Pingchuan’s brow furrowed. He didn’t know if this change was for the better or worse. After all, if his suspicions were correct, future simulations could become fraught with complications. To empower itself, the divine self would truly stop at nothing.

[Just as you are about to board the aircraft, Belia finally asks the question on her mind: why did you take such a troublesome and roundabout step? You can’t voice your true concerns, as you’re not sure how she would react if she knew other people were monitoring you.]

[At the same time, you worry that this information asymmetry could lead her to make a fatal misjudgment. You hesitate for a long time before deciding to play the part of a manipulative sympathizer, feeding her a string of disingenuous claims.]

[You lie to Belia. You tell her that you were unintentionally selected by Celestial Palace, a veteran faction within the Mechanicals, to become one of the Heaven’s Chosen. Now, there is a high probability that you will be hunted down the moment you show your face in public.]

[When Belia hears the term ’Heaven’s Chosen’, she falls silent for a moment. It seems she’s aware of this secret. After all, at her level, certain unspoken rules of the world are no longer hidden from her. Although she finds it strange that you’ve managed to survive this long, she still believes your outrageous story.]