001 [Past Life Simulator]

Guicheng, Huyuan Residential Complex, Building 4, Unit 5, Room 601.

He Zhao was studying the package in his hands. Alliance Express had delivered it that morning. Not only was it expedited, but the damned thing was cash on delivery—it had cost him several hundred yuan.

[Sender location: Z County. Sender: Bei Ri Ren]

"???"

What a bizarre name!

Wait, no.

A piece was missing from the top of the character Bei. The character Ri seemed to be a radical, and Ren was missing part of itself too.

Fortunately, he did not dwell on it for long. He picked up a pair of scissors from the coffee table and, with three quick strokes, gave the package a thorough disemboweling.

"A game console?"

That was right. What greeted his eyes was something resembling an antique game console from a century ago, with a huge slogan written across it.

"Life After Life, Endless Joy!"

"."

You could buy this thing at a secondhand market for ten bucks, at least ninety percent new, with a pile of classic game cartridges thrown in for free.

So I spent—cough cough—several hundred yuan just to look at this thing?

"Whoosh—"

A ray of light shot out and sank into He Zhao's forehead.

"Holy shit?"

The game console on the coffee table vanished. In its place, information prompts suddenly popped up in the upper-left corner of his vision.

[Past Life Simulator is loading. 1% 5% 10% 91% 95% 100% Loading complete. Successfully loaded.]

[You may obtain one Simulation Coin each calendar day. Today's Simulation Coin has been placed in the player's wallet. (Note: Simulation Coins are an important resource in the Past Life Simulator. Please do not use them recklessly.)]

[Death does not exist in the Simulator (but please do not commit evil deeds; play positively and enjoy a healthy life). The player's mind is protected by the Simulator and will not develop mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, personality disorders, or depression after experiencing too many past-life simulation scenarios.]

[Past Life Mall], [My Past Lives], [Personal Wallet].

He Zhao was utterly dumbfounded. He could not understand why signing for a simple delivery had resulted in one of those "Golden Fingers" from web novels.

After taking a moment to recover, he had no choice but to accept the incredibly surreal Past Life Simulator.

Mainly because he had no other choice.

He focused his mind on [Past Life Mall], and several messages immediately popped up in the upper-left corner of his vision.

[East Expedition West Campaign]: Admission Ticket price—1 Simulation Coin.

[Qinghe Town: Demon Subjugation Chapter]: Admission Ticket price—10 Simulation Coins.

There were only two simulation scenarios. The rest was darkness, as though shrouded by thick fog.

"You won't even let me look if I don't have money? Even Goose Factory isn't as shady as you!"

He Zhao then focused his mind on [Personal Wallet]. Sure enough, a huge [1] appeared before his eyes.

"Should I play a simulation scenario first? I can't die anyway."

His curiosity surging, he tapped [East Expedition West Campaign] in the mall.

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

[Loading world. 1% 25% 40% 81% 95% 100% Loading complete.]

[Loading past life. 1% 35% 50% 91% 99% 100% Loading complete.]

[Congratulations, you have become—a Mob!!]

[Loading special talent. Successfully loaded.]

[Endure Hunger: You possess endurance toward hunger far beyond that of ordinary people.]

So I'm the one being subjugated?

As the world spun around him, He Zhao faced the ceiling and raised a middle finger, using it to express his grief and indignation.

"Kill!"

"Run! The Xuandu Army is here!"

Amid the clamorous voices, He Zhao opened his eyes.

Corpses lay everywhere around him, along with vagrants fleeing in wild panic. Their clothes were tattered, their faces sallow and their bodies wasted. Calling them walking skeletons would not have been an exaggeration.

A chill wind swept over him, and He Zhao shuddered violently.

Looking down, he found that he was no better off than they were.

"Eh?"

A cold sensation came from his right hand. He immediately turned to look and saw a manure fork, its prongs giving off waves of stench.

"You call this a mob? These are clearly disaster victims!"

Rumble, rumble.

The ground ahead shook. He Zhao raised his head and saw a squad of cavalry clad head to toe in black armor, curved sabers in hand, charging straight toward him.

"??"

Before he could react, the cavalry had arrived before him.

The rider bent down and swung his blade.

"Splurt—"

Amid spraying blood, He Zhao stared at the headless corpse standing on the ground with a manure fork in its hand. It looked awfully familiar.

Room 601. Having just returned to reality, he stood there with a dazed expression.

No, how long did I live for?

A string of prompts suddenly popped up in the upper-left corner of his vision.

[Congratulations, you survived for 29 seconds. A brief life, accomplishing nothing.]

[Rating: No evaluation.]

[Reward: None.]

[Would you like to replay your simulated life?]

".Get lost."

What, you want me to watch my own miserable death again?

He Zhao shook his head. The pain of a blade sweeping across his neck still made his heart tremble with lingering fear.

It was not that he had not wanted to resist. The cavalry had simply been too fast, and his weak body, faintly numb from the cold, had been utterly incapable of reacting in time or taking appropriate measures.

"Learn from a setback and gain wisdom. Next time I go in, I'll run first."

He got up and cooked noodles.

After eating and drinking his fill, he began a long wait.

At midnight, when the clock ticked over to [00:00], a prompt appeared in the upper-left corner of his vision.

[Today's Simulation Coin has been placed in the player's wallet.]

[My Wallet: 1 Simulation Coin.]

He picked up the stopwatch he had prepared. Lying on the bed, He Zhao entered the simulation scenario of [Campaigning] once again.

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Kill!"

"Run! The Xuandu Army is here!"

Having anticipated it, He Zhao did not waste a word. He turned and ran for his life. At the same time, his eyes darted everywhere, hoping to find somewhere to hide. After all, two legs could never outrun four.

After roughly fifty steps, hoofbeats sounded behind him.

"Splurt—"

He did not even need to turn around to know that was the sound of a curved saber cutting through his neck.

A ruined village stood not far ahead. If he ran just a few more steps, he could leave the cavalry's line of sight, then squeeze into some nook or cranny and hide.

"Whoosh!"

A piercing sound tore through the air.

"Splurt—"

He Zhao suddenly froze in place. Lowering his head, he looked at the arrow protruding from his chest, his face full of resentment.

"Thud!"

His body collapsed to the ground, eyes still wide open in death.

"Pant, pant, pant."

Room 601, bedroom.

He gasped for breath, and the stopwatch in his hand started the instant he returned to reality.

[Congratulations, you survived for 39 seconds. A brief life, accomplishing nothing.]

[Rating: No evaluation.]

[Reward: None.]

[Would you like to replay your simulated life?]

"If I stay put, I'll definitely die. If I run, I'll get shot by arrows. What kind of damned past life is this?"

He had died twice in a row, and even combined, he had not survived for two minutes. He was so furious he could not sleep at all. His mind kept turning over how he could possibly stay alive.

Only at dawn did he finally fall into a deep sleep.

[00:00]

"This time, I'll definitely make it through unscathed."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

"Kill!"

"Run! The Xuandu Army is here!"

Without a word, He Zhao threw away the manure fork and flung himself among the corpses by the roadside, smearing blood all over his face in the process.

After experiencing the simulation scenario twice, he had discovered that the cavalry did not finish off corpses. They merely slaughtered their way onward, like an arrowhead instantly punching through the entire group of vagrants.

Hehe, this is solid.

Hoofbeats rang out, accompanied by wails and screams, gradually fading into the distance.

Someone surnamed He opened his eyes and quietly let out a breath.

He immediately got up, preparing to leave this place of trouble.

A strange sound suddenly reached his ears.

He Zhao turned his head and saw a Black Armor Soldier crawling out from among the corpses two meters away. Their eyes met at once.

"Simulator, you motherf—"

"Splurt!"