Chapter 63
"This simulation will last for 30 minutes, with a 10-second preparation time. The Countdown is over, and the simulated combat will begin. Now, disperse and do not gather in groups."
"Every ten minutes, each person will randomly receive a weapon. Use the weapon to hit the bugs that appear in the simulated area. The bugs will fall, and you will gain temporary safety."
A clearly visible Green √ countdown Countdown appears in the sky above the simulated battlefield.
The sandy land was calm, but the huge, silent, and steadily decreasing Green √ numbers made everyone's hearts leap into their throats.
Time was too short. They only knew that the simulation map was a desert, and they didn't know the specifics. They had no time to pay attention to Qin Su. They held their breath and recalled the two locations where their names had been written, concentrating on their work.
[The way everyone stood in the desert, looking up at the Countdown, gave off a sense of impending doom, as if awaiting their fate.]
Everyone looks so uneasy.
[Without being told what to do beforehand, only knowing that you need to get from one point to another, completely clueless and relying entirely on your own improvisation skills, anyone would be nervous.]
While waiting for the broadcast to begin, Qin Su glanced at the comments in the upper left corner, lost in thought.
The scene inside the game is from He Muzhi's perspective. He Muzhi is in the middle of the game, cannot see what is happening outside the game. He Muzhi alone is not sure if the Viewers will see it either.
In that case...
Qin Su had to spend extra Life Points to exchange for his own solo capture shot, which is a panoramic view to ensure that the Viewers can see shots of him 'controlling and dominating the entire scene', apart from shots of He Muzhi.
The Countdown reached zero, and Qin Su shut down the simulation area. Having already mentally simulated it several times, Qin Su immediately deployed realistic simulated terrain and climate.
In an instant, a fierce wind arose in the once calm desert, the sun blazed down, and yellow sand filled the sky...
In this extremely harsh weather, a series of sharp, piercing cries that sounded somewhat familiar to the students echoed in the sky, accompanied by billowing yellow sand that seemed to be stirred up by something, hurtling towards them in a crushing manner, creating a depressing atmosphere.
The wind howled in their ears, and the yellow sand rustled against their simulated equipment, which was dressed in special Combat Suits.
The scene felt so real, as if they were truly in a real-life situation.
In their hands were weapons that fell randomly from above.
"!!!"
This scene startled the students in Class 6 for a moment. Subconsciously, they looked around for their companions and took steps to get closer.
They found their legs were stuck deep in the yellow sand, unable to pull themselves out.
In the past month or so of courses, they had only experienced desert scenarios twice at most. This was the third time. They were not unfamiliar with this situation, but they were not yet adept at handling it.
Their movements were restricted, and an unknown danger was steadily approaching from afar, showing no signs of stopping. This caused some students to feel tense and momentarily forget the initial orders Qin Su had given them.
In desperation, they called for help from friends and acquaintances on the channel.
"Is anyone there? Why can't I see anything but yellow sand?"
"Holy crap, what's going on?!"
"This sand is so hard to pull out, it's like a quagmire!"
Help! What should I do now?!
Qin Su not only deliberately blocked the possibility of them seeing each other, but also made the students block each other's Communication Channels.
Regardless of whose voice it is, only the Class Monitor, who has all the permissions, can hear it within the channel.
Within the channel, absolutely no one else's voice will be heard except for their own.
In a previous real-world exercise, Qin Su discovered that everyone excessively relied on 'stronger people' and was used to sticking together for warmth.
It's normal for the weak to obey the commands of the strong, but even without commands, the weak must have sufficient ability to make their own judgments and think critically.
He is not one of those morally upright protagonists; he has no morals, and no one can hold him hostage. The terrified voices on the channel will not make him stop.
With no response, the danger drew ever closer to these people. In the midst of the panic, some belatedly recalled Qin Su's orders. Looking at the two unique path maps on their virtual helmets amidst the swirling yellow sand, their eyes lit up, and they dashed towards one of the two points.
It was a difficult run.
However, they believed that as long as they reached one point and then another, completing the task Qin Su had assigned them, these inexplicable dangers would disappear.
There are also some students whose reaction speed, abilities, and independent thinking are stronger than others, such as He Muzhi, Raymond, Jeffrey, Sheng Shuang, Sophia, and Zhong Lin, who previously studied under Qin Su...
They were not afraid of the drastically changed environment. After scanning their surroundings and knowing everyone's situation, they immediately set off to carry out the instructions issued by Qin Su, ignoring the terrible environment around them.
Time ticked by, and finding themselves alone with no companions and nowhere to turn for help, feeling as if they were the only ones left in the world, the students were forced to calm themselves down and make independent judgments about their situation.
Calming down, and looking at the Green √ route map between the two points marked on the virtual helmet in front of them, they couldn't help but think, 'The points are even marked, and the distance isn't too far. We can definitely run there in half an hour. The environment just sounds a bit scary. If there are bugs, we can just kill them. It doesn't seem too difficult.'
Amidst the howling yellow sand, Qin Su stood atop a miniature mobile machine, surveying the entire situation of his classmates.
Ten seconds have passed.
That's about it.
Qin Su raised his hand and used his Class Monitor privileges to open the Simulation Room warehouse. He extracted 1,000 simulated flight machines, each the size of an adult man's palm, and linked them to the Optical Brain. These machines hovered and flew behind Qin Su as he moved.
Aircraft can transform into different types of Zerg mimicry in Simulated Combat Areas under the human control of the operator.
During the mimicry period, the damage value is maximized, and the appearance and damage value of the mimicked insect are exactly the same.
Qin Su had already thoughtfully allocated the items to the 499 students in the class. For the first session, each student received an average of two items, as per the "factory standard" allocation.
Whoever gets one of the extra two spots will be the 'lucky guest'.
There were too many people; his brain needed to control 1,000 Mimicry Aircraft at once, and he was too lazy to spend his energy distinguishing who was who.
If any of the Mimicry Aircraft are hit, he will have less control and his mind will be more 'free', at which point he can randomly mobilize the Mimicry Aircraft to launch an attack.
Qin Su's Optical Brain controlled the next Mimicry Aircraft to arrive behind Qin Su, mimicking 1,000 circling and howling Red-Winged Pheasant Crows.
The Red-Winged Pheasant Crows has a snake-like body, a triangular head, and a row of staggered, sharp teeth on each side of its mouth, averaging about ten centimeters long. Below its head, a wing grows from each side of its torso, extending to its tail and gradually decreasing in size from head to toe.
Its wings are covered with black feathers on the back, and the inside of the open wings is bright red, with a clear skeletal structure.
Red-Winged Pheasant Crows often soar in flocks through the sky, and when they swoop down to approach their prey, they spray a thick, golden liquid with a strong burning and corrosive effect from their mouths to attack their prey.
Once the prey is burned and corroded by the golden liquid and loses its ability to move, the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows will fly low and swallow it whole.
Qin Su: "..."
I understand, 'spitting'.
From the Viewers's perspective, the piercing screams heard by Class 6 and the crushing of the yellow sand wall were caused by them.
The Viewers watched in disbelief as Qin Su raised his right hand and a Red-Winged Pheasant Crows appeared behind Qin Su.
Immediately, Qin Su shed his human form before their eyes, mimicking the largest Red-Winged Pheasant Crows among them.
With its crimson wings spread, it cast a large shadow on the sun-baked yellow sand, and a tornado rose from the ground.
[Completely bewildered]
[What's going on! Qin Su... isn't he one of them? How did he end up on the Zerg's side!]
[Class 6): There's a traitor among us!]
[I must say, this 'traitor' is really hard to guess. If I were a member of Class 6), without the God's- eye view of the Viewers, I would never have guessed it was Baby 1.]
[Looking forward to the moment when Class 6) learns the truth]
In a single second, 1,000 Red-Winged Pheasant Crows assembled. Qin Su lowered his raised hand, and the dense swarm of Red-Winged Pheasant Crows poured out of their nests.
They flapped their wings, creating whirlwinds that whipped up yellow sand, whistling and swooping down on the humans scattered across the vast, boundless simulated area...
Mimicking the largest of the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, Qin Su, standing on the simulator, nimbly roamed the entire simulated combat area, surveying the positions of his classmates while maneuvering the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows to launch attacks.
The students, who were alone amidst the flying sand and stones and were working hard to achieve Qin Su's goal, heard a sharp howl behind them and instinctively turned around.
Two to three meters long, the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, with their blood-red mouths wide open and screeching, swooped down on them.
"!!!"
The students either stared wide-eyed and froze in place, or paused for a moment before raising their weapons to attack, or immediately launched an attack in silence.
Bang bang bang...
"Ahh!"
"Get out of here! Don't come any closer!"
The continuous roar of artillery fire, accompanied by flying sand and gravel, echoed incessantly.
Facing attacks from various weapons, Qin Su manipulated the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows to rapidly dodge, making sure they 'sprayed' golden liquid from their mouths during the brief moments of evasion...
Some Red-Winged Pheasant Crows were hit and fell, while students were sprayed with corrosive golden liquid on different parts of their bodies, the excruciating pain causing them to scream in agony.
Qin Su gave them no chance to react. Following the actual reaction of a pheasant-winged crow when it sees human prey, he accelerated and rushed past the 'prey' when it was slowed down by pain, simulating swallowing it whole.
The students, still writhing in agony on the ground, were not yet recovering from the intense pain when they heard a hissing sound. As they looked up, a hideous, gaping maw opened towards them.
The special Combat Suit can not only simulate the damage and wounds, but also simulate the realistic scenario of being swallowed.
From their perspective, they were being held by the head, bitten on the body, or picked up by the legs... The pain of being swallowed, having their flesh torn apart, and having their bones chewed up between sharp teeth caused them to let out screams of agony.
Qin Su ignored him, turning a deaf ear, and continued to cosplay as a cold-blooded and ruthless killing machine.
The realistic death scenarios will evoke their deepest fears. Having experienced 'death,' they will understand even more clearly that in this simulated combat, no one can save them.
The only people who can help themselves are themselves.
The next time they are 'reborn' back to square one, they will fight even harder.
Fear is an instinct, and he wanted them to overcome their instincts through repeated simulations.
Even if they cannot overcome it, they should reach a point of numbness to the 'single fear' so that when they truly face it, repeated experiences will allow their bodies to make the most correct response before their brains can react.
Qin Su believes that this is the significance of simulating a real battlefield.
From the Viewers's perspective, under the attack of Qin Su and his Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, the sand and dust flew, and corpses littered the field.
The 'death simulation' lasted for three minutes. After 'dying' under the attack of the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, the students recovered from the extreme shadow of death and found a line of text written on their virtual helmets:
[First Simulated Battle: Number of Deaths x1.]
The students who died. "..."
Even the grace period before death will be ruthlessly taken away by Qin Su.
Many students were still reeling from the excruciating pain of their first 'death' when the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, radiating murderous intent, returned with a vengeance.
"..."
"???"
"!!!"
"Ahhh--"
Almost the same scenario played out repeatedly on the vast Simulated Battlefield.
[Don't be afraid, it's Boss 1 (doge)]
[It's been a long time since I've seen such a touching and moving video (just kidding)]
[Trying to act like the Insect King, who else but our Boss Su could do that? Seriously... I'm crying (I'm crying, but I'm just pretending. jpg)]
[With Class Monitor like our Boss 1, we can only steal... oh wait, let's just laugh and cry (doge)]
[Without our Boss 1, who still truly considers them as real warriors? (Tears streaming down my face)]
There are many 'rookies' who die a lot, but there are also quite a few outstanding students.
For example, the protagonist He Muzhi.
Qin Su narrowly dodged the Laser Rounds that He Muzhi fired at him, and in his mimicry form, he launched a 'spit' counterattack at He Muzhi.
The sound of the circular Laser Rounds exploding as it passed by his ear caused Qin Su to experience a clear tinnitus.
At that moment, a painful groan came from He Muzhi.
Qin Su lowered his eyes, and the simulated golden liquid splashed onto He Muzhi's shoulder, deviating significantly from the intended location of his heart.
Qin Su: "..."
The sheer number and intricate details manipulated by the Optical Brain overwhelmed my brain, slowing down my actions.
When gradually increasing the dosage later, it's important to control the amount in 'large batches'.
Qin Su snapped out of his thoughts and flew away from He Muzhi's area.
He knew the location of the two extra Red-Winged Pheasant Crows by observing the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows Mimicry Aircraft that had been forced to temporarily 'cease fire' after being hit on the sand not far from He Muzhi.
As expected of the main character, when bad luck strikes, even drinking cold water can cause problems.
Out of 1000, others only got two, but he got four. He's so lucky...
Qin Su: "..."
Well, if He Muzhi knew about this good fortune, he probably wouldn't want it so much.
He Muzhi already so unlucky, having killed twice as many people as others. It would be impolite for him to take advantage of his misfortune and devour him as well.
If all four Red-Winged Pheasant Crows are dealt with, there's a 99% chance He Muzhi will be the first to reach his own destination and complete the mission.
[The largest known Red-Winged Pheasant Crows is from Boss 1, so how can that scene just now not be considered a sniper duel between two people!]
[I can already picture Qin Su shedding his disguise, dodging the stray bullet as it whizzes past him—a truly dashing scene!]
[Other pictures show two puppies, but our Mu Bao has four, so we're a bit unlucky.]
Is it possible that Qin Su deliberately assigned four dogs to He Muzhi, just for extra training?! That he had high hopes for him?
Qin Su: "..."
He's not him, he didn't do it, don't talk nonsense.
It's clear that He Muzhi is always very unlucky when he's down on his luck.
"Hiss..."
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder. He Muzhi looked down at the golden liquid clinging to his special Combat Suit, frowned, and let out a low groan of pain. Just then, he caught a glimpse of a huge shadow flying over his head.
He Muzhi quickly looked up and saw the enormous creature, clearly the 'leader' of the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, and frowned deeply.
Fortunately, he had already killed the other four attacking him beforehand.
Fortunately, this one didn't try to swallow it; otherwise, given its accuracy, it would have been easy for it to devour him.
Only...
'If I let it go, won't the other students suffer?'
'If Qin Su saw it, he would definitely strike it deadly, and he certainly wouldn't let it leave and harm the other students.'
'I have to solve it myself.'
With this in mind, He Muzhi endured the excruciating pain and stood up. Amidst the swirling sand, he resolutely charged towards the enormous creature.
The fine yellow sand, so dense that one could sink into it with a single step, still restricted He Muzhi's movements. He Muzhi could only hold up the new weapon that had been refreshed every ten minutes and shoot from a distance.
In the darkness, Qin Su caught a glimpse of the cannonballs that He Muzhi was firing at him.
He was just passing by, what did he do to deserve this?!
[The black text is stained red, so... you've got the wrong target! Mu Bao, come back right now and stop chasing! Mommy won't let you chase after her, you hear me!]
[He Muzhi's narration is heartbreaking.]
[This truly embodies the saying "He can't escape even if he grows wings," haha!]
[If you're going to chase someone, why did you have to open fire?]
[No, He Muzhi, you... I... that giant thing is... sigh, Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird, respect the fate of others.]
[Maru Spicy BBQ]
With the distance between them and ample reaction time, Qin Su easily evaded the attack.
The students in the simulated combat didn't know that he was the biggest Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, but the comic book Viewers knew perfectly well.
With things having come to this point, Qin Su, unable to retreat, had no choice but to turn back and launch an attack on He Muzhi.
Even though he was disguised as the 'Insect King', Qin Su still diligently maintained a 'strong' style in order to increase his Life Points.
Qin Su temporarily gathered his scattered thoughts from the other Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, letting them roam freely. He focused his Optical Brain on the equipment on his feet, ensuring that under his full-speed attack, the golden liquid and the Red-Winged Pheasant Crows's gaping maw would simultaneously reach He Muzhi's eyes...
After firing, the sand and dust stung his eyes, He Muzhi blinked.
The enormous Red-Winged Pheasant Crows, which had been some distance away high in the sky, was suddenly within arm's reach, its gaping maw swallowing him whole.
"!"
Suddenly, an unexpected turn of events occurred. He Muzhi was unable to dodge in time, and the excruciating pain of his limbs being bitten and devoured swept over his entire body, causing him to briefly lose consciousness.
In the moment when his mind went blank, the following thought flashed through He Muzhi's mind:
'Damn it, I failed! It only needed one hit to disappear, but I couldn't even hit such a large area. What a waste!'
'It really hurts!'
'If it were Qin Su, this situation would never have occurred.'
Why did you provoke him? (sighs)
[... He Muzhi's narration really makes me reluctant to tell him the truth. If the other party is Qin Su, it's not a matter of how big the area is, for goodness' sake!]
[You didn't expect that, did you? It was Qin Su who ate your food (doge)]
[!!!]
[Qin Su ate... ate He Muzhi?!]
[Based on current popularity, did the main character eat the main character?]
Having successfully caused He Muzhi's death, Qin Su left to avoid any unforeseen complications.
He Mumu regained consciousness and found herself back in the 'spring,' forced to 'start all over again.'
Throughout his journey to his destination, He Muzhi never stopped searching for the enormous Red-Winged Pheasant Crows.
The comments section was filled with laughter.
[Mu Bao is really... I'm dying of laughter]
[Although it was well-intentioned, it 'Boss 1 really... cute and funny. Qin Su, why don't you show up in front of He Muzhi again? I can see he's been looking for him really hard, hahaha]
Qin Su: "..."
Dame.
Qin Su, who rejects bullet comments, oversees the entire situation, shifting from individual manipulation to group manipulation. He disguises himself as the 'Insect King' and randomly selects 'lucky Viewers' to follow.
They ignored the pitiful cries for help, painful sobs, and angry roars from students on the channel who had died too many times.
Heartless.
There was absolutely no intention to end it early.
A half-hour performance is a proper half-hour performance; not a second less is a perfect half-hour.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity to countless students, the half-hour was over.
To avoid being exposed and criticized, Qin Su made the Mimicry Aircraft return to their positions before the simulated reality disappeared, and he also shed his mimicry.
As the thirty-minute Countdown ended, Qin Su's icy voice, along with the disappearing sandstorm, echoed through the Communication Channels of every student's Optical Brain:
"The first session is over. We have a five-minute break. Please take advantage of the break."
(Class 6 students. "...!!"
Is it over?
Finally!
The transition from mental confusion to emotional breakdown can happen in a mere instant.
Qin Su, who had become the Class Monitor and had access to the combat simulation area, did not show them the screen recording of the simulation this time. They were completely unaware of the truth behind the overall situation during the simulation, as they were crying with their heads in their hands.
"Waaaaah, at first I really thought I was dead!"
"Oh my god, the feeling of being eaten after being invited to eat is terrifying!"
"It's really creepy that I can actually understand the feeling of 'being used to crunchy food' one day."
The break was short; after only about a minute of crying and complaining, groups of three or five students from Class 6 looked up at each other and their eyes all turned to Qin Su's location.