They All Said This Wasn't a Life Simulator! Section 1

I already told you this isn't a life simulator!

Author: Ming Xue

Synopsis:

[Congratulations on your transmigration]

[It's your favorite Honkai Impact 3, or perhaps the previous civilization, with girls like flying flowers, aren't you happy?]

I have a feeling I'm going to die very quickly...

[Just be grateful it's not Honkai Impact 2. I'll give you a cheat as well, satisfied?]

[To prevent you from not knowing how to use it, let me introduce it to you first. Firstly, this cheat allows you to rewind time with yourself as the base point. You can use this to explore various futures until you are satisfied. Although you must reach an ending before you can rewind... and after starting, your original memories will be temporarily sealed, which is a small balancing mechanism]

Why does this feel so familiar... A life simulator?

[No, it's not a life simulator... By the way, every time you complete an ending, you'll get something unique~ Like unique entries, or upgradeable entries... These will make it easier for you to get the next ending~ Of course, after rewinding, you will also gain all the memories from that ending, which is a different kind of reward~]

...Isn't this exactly a life simulator?

[I said it's not, so it's not!]

Chapter 1: In Short, Welcome to a New "Day"

Rustle...

It sounded like pages turning.

Though the sound was very light, it felt exceptionally loud to him, as if it were coming from inside his own head.

This was followed by a violent headache and an intense urge to vomit, forcing him to wake up. Instinctively, he leaned to the side and dry-heaved.

"Cough, cough... What is this..."

Once his condition improved slightly, the boy wiped his mouth, looked around groggily, and then slumped weakly into a corner, muttering to himself.

"I remember I was just staying home, about to go out and do volunteer work... How did I end up here? Kidnapping?"

He mumbled to himself as he recalled his previous memories, as if confirming the situation, or perhaps it was simply a habit.

"And... my body... I'm a child? I don't recall any famous detectives in the Far East, nor do I remember news about skyscrapers exploding out of nowhere..."

Briefly examining his suddenly childlike body and pressing on his throat, the boy spoke with a hint of helplessness...

Ah, right. It seems I forgot to introduce myself. My name is—Xi Wang.

I get it, I get it. This name sounds like it's ripe for jokes, especially the pun. They're gonna dock my pay for this!

Actually, this name has a lot of thought behind it. The two characters were taken from the deities Xi He and Wang Shu, respectively. The meaning is that like the sun and moon, he can exist whether it's day or night, can show his brilliance at any time, can illuminate and guide others at any time, becoming a light for others, becoming hope... Alright, I can't keep this up.

Well... according to my parents' explanation, I always felt this name had a bit of superstition (or perhaps a joke?) mixed in. But since it carries the good wishes and expectations of my elders, I don't really dislike it, nor do I want to change it... And changing it wouldn't be good, would it? If I really changed it, wouldn't I be giving up on "hope" in a sense?

Although I always get teased about it, especially when my name is called out, like "Xi Wang from Class XX," or "Xi Wang from XX School." Every time I hear it, it's quite amusing. And when my parents brag, "Our Xi Wang is the hope of our family," it sounds inexplicably hilarious.

I can only say that my parents' choice of name is truly wonderful~ (reading sarcastically)

LOL.jpg

Well... it's not a particularly embarrassing thing anyway. Let's get back to the current situation.

"Okay... it seems I have no choice but to accept that I've inexplicably become a 'test subject' for some organization? But if the 'shrinking potion' from the comics were actually made, it would probably shake the world, right? Then I, a successful 'test subject,' should also be noticed, right?"

He scratched his slightly messy, somewhat long hair, which hadn't been properly cared for in a while, and pulled his oversized, tattered coat tighter. Xi Wang muttered to himself with a hint of jest—it wasn't bragging; he was always good at being "optimistic."

But soon, he dismissed this thought.

"However, if that were the case, I, this 'test subject,' wouldn't have been thrown into this place... So, am I a failure? Or does no one know?"

He cautiously peeked his head out, surveying the dim alley. One side of the alley was a solid wall, which, along with the buildings on both sides, completely isolated the alley from sunlight. Only the other side leading to the road and the sky directly above could be seen.

As for the possibility of "escaping the laboratory myself," while it was possible, he didn't consider it for the moment. For one thing, he had no memory of it, and for another...

"This thing... no matter how you look at it, it's not something an ordinary person would encounter, is it?"

He blinked, repeatedly confirming the special characters that appeared at the alley entrance, as well as the semi-transparent light screen floating in front of him, constantly glowing and announcing its presence.

The characters at the alley entrance were not in a script he recognized, nor did he recall seeing any similar variations. It should be some kind of new script. And although he hadn't studied this script, he could surprisingly understand its meaning—[Welcome to a new "Day"].

Xi Wang initially thought it was some kind of neon advertising sign across the street. After a closer look, he realized the characters were floating at the entrance of the alley.

Coupled with the message displayed on the light screen floating beside him... Xi Wang's expression became somewhat strange.

"Could it be... I transmigrated..."

He reached out, repeatedly trying to interact with the light screen. Finally, he confirmed that the thing was indeed semi-transparent.

"Alright, it seems I really transmigrated..."

Xi Wang sighed, summarizing his situation and tentatively accepting this reality.

Although he really liked fantasy worlds, Xi Wang was quite satisfied with his life. He could live quite comfortably by collecting rent each month. The rest of the time, besides staying home, he would hang out with friends, go out to do volunteer work, exercise occasionally, and travel when he had free time...

Except for his parents leaving him, his other relatives being distant, and never having had a girlfriend, he didn't seem to have any regrets.

Xi Wang knew very well that such a "plain" life was what most people longed for. This was also his parents' greatest wish before they left him—to live a stable life, be healthy, be friendly to others, have a few close friends, be able to do what he liked, and live his life without major illnesses or disasters.

Not to mention, as their only son, he had a relatively happy childhood and student life. This was practically the life most people dreamed of.

Even though he liked those grand and fantastical otherworlds, he didn't yearn for them... though he did dream about them sometimes.

"So, am I considered missing or dead?"

He subconsciously scratched his head again, Xi Wang's thoughts jumping a bit as he recalled a question that most "isekai" works touched upon.

"If I'm missing, it'll probably be troublesome to deal with... Death... uh... can they find a body? I don't recall having any deathbed memories..."

"I just hope those 'relatives' don't try to grab my assets while I'm gone... I don't have any feelings for them, nor do we keep in touch, but they're always eager when it comes to property."

Thinking of those people made him angry.

"But my younger cousin is still studying, almost graduating from university. It wasn't easy for her to come out from our hometown, so I should leave her some tuition money... I remember I asked a lawyer to help handle things... Hmm, the rental house can be sold cheaply to the tenant, they've been renting for many years, and their child is almost in high school... As for the assets, part of it will be donated, part for my little cousin's tuition, and part for those few kids, they've been with me since high school... Sigh, we were talking about taking a road trip together during the holidays, but it looks like that's not happening anymore."

"And there are Grandpa and Grandma too, I couldn't go see them today... Ah, I broke my promise, I hope they don't hold it against me..."

"I also promised the little ones I'd go see them... I haven't bought snacks yet, but they probably won't need them now. I just hope they don't get upset with each other... If they get scolded by Grandma later, they'll blame me again..."

While muttering to himself, he carefully recalled his past and realized he had surprisingly arranged everything. Except for the promises he couldn't keep due to the unavoidable circumstance of transmigration, everything else was settled.

Although this kind of "preparing for sudden departure" felt a bit off, especially for someone as young as him... it also showed his foresight!

"As expected of me!"

Xi Wang felt a little smug. (Though he didn't know what there was to be smug about.)

"So now..."

His gaze returned to the light screen in front of him, lingering for a moment before he finally sighed, accepting the reality of being forcibly removed from his "paradise."

"Let me organize the current information a bit."

He raised his hand and lightly tapped the air with his index finger. Although there was no tactile feedback, a light spot did appear on the light screen where his finger was hovering—he had just discovered this, that he could use this light screen like a touchscreen computer.

Dragging downwards, he could stretch the light screen, and a region marked "Record Board" would appear below.

"How convenient~"

After a brief trial, confirming that this area could be written on and edited freely, Xi Wang nodded in satisfaction and began recording the information he had obtained.

While he no longer needed to worry too much about his original world, whether he was considered dead or missing there was still a question mark—though the final outcome might be unknown, what if? Maybe he could go back then? Right?

The place he was currently in was highly unlikely to be the "future" or "ancient times." It also didn't seem like "modern times." Judging by the text, it should be an "otherworld"... Although he didn't know where he had arrived, since there were modern-like buildings here, he could rule out medieval times. Perhaps it was "near future" type of setting?

In any case, knowing that the era was close to his original "world" made things much easier and helped avoid any embarrassing mistakes. He'd have to learn more about other things later.

When he woke up, he felt a strong sense of discomfort, along with that "page-turning" sound. He wasn't sure if it was the trigger for "transmigration," but he could focus on it if he had the chance.

As for the text floating at the intersection and the light screen he was currently using... he'd tentatively consider them his "cheat." He didn't know the purpose of the floating text, but this "light screen"...

"..."

Xi Wang paused, then pulled the light screen upwards. He could see two other areas. The topmost was marked "Event Board," with a message "You have transmigrated." Clicking the message would pop up a small box, detailing the actions he had taken to confirm his transmigration, all written in that unfamiliar but understandable text.

Moreover, Xi Wang was certain that this board had not displayed any text before he had "confirmed his transmigration."

"Do confirmed events get displayed? I wonder if there are other functions..."

The middle area was marked "Entries," containing two entries:

"Record" (Gold): ???

Effect: After each "Ending," there's a chance to extract parts of "experiences/traits/achievements" and convert them into fixed "Entries."

"■■" (Blue): Currently invisible.

These seemed very useful, especially the effect of the "Record" entry which revealed quite a bit of information. However, the content and overall layout of the light screen felt very familiar to Xi Wang.

"...A life simulator?"

Xi Wang was very familiar with this layout and the style of "Entries," it was the style of the text game "life simulator." It seemed this light screen was used to display it?

Coupled with the effect of the "Record" entry... was it the effect of "retaining this entry in the next simulation"? Is it really a "life simulator"? But shouldn't this effect be default? Why list it separately? Or is it a version he hadn't played before? And the other blue entry is hidden, could there be any special information?

As for why this "simulator" didn't provide him with the "initial points" stage... it probably directly locked his current situation, thus skipping this stage.

Xi Wang speculated this. Although he was eighty percent sure, he still wrote "Initial points based on current status?" on the "Record Board" with a question mark. After a moment of thought, he added the question "What is the definition of 'Ending'?" but he figured he would get a definitive answer to this question later, so he didn't need to worry too much.

"And also... there's no 'Start'."

Xi Wang frowned, his gaze shifting to the floating "Welcome to a new 'day'" beside him.

Did this replace the "Start"? And... a day? Just one day? Why the quotation marks?

Combined with the fact that the "Event Board" only displayed things he had confirmed, it made him feel confused.

If it was just experiencing one day, there shouldn't be quotation marks. And if that were the case, this "simulator" shouldn't be called a "life simulator"; it should be a "one-day future simulator." Moreover, it's still unknown if this is a "simulator," and whether he would return to this time point is also unknown...

"Everything is unknown... This is really troublesome. It's hard to adapt to a new environment."

After several rounds of thought, it seemed he had only organized his current situation, and coincidentally concluded that he had something that seemed to be a "simulator" which might be a cheat. For other situations, he would need to obtain more information.

"Alright, no matter what, I'll live well in this new place~"

He patted his still tender face, habitually clearing what he had written on the "Record Board," and Xi Wang encouraged himself in a cheerful tone.