First Villain Simulation

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

They were trembling—not from cold or fear, but from the physiological reaction of having overexerted himself.

He raised his head and indifferently swept his gaze over the three people lying on the ground.

One had passed out, one was howling in pain with a severed hand, and one... was probably dead.

...So this was what killing felt like?

It did not seem as terrifying as he had imagined.

Jiang Mo licked his cracked lips. As his strength faded, that deadly hunger returned, even fiercer than before.

He staggered over to the wall, bent down to pick up the moldy bread covered in ice chips and dust, carelessly wiped it with his tattered sleeve, then tore off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth expressionlessly.

It tasted awful, like chewing sawdust, with a sickening sour tang.

But he needed food.

Berserk effect ended. Moderate mental exhaustion.

First villainous act assessed: Successfully used violence to counter violence! Villain Points +30!

The cold notification sounded in his mind again, much clearer this time.

Jiang Mo chewed and swallowed as he concentrated.

A translucent interface abruptly appeared before his eyes.

At the top of the interface were several large words:

Villain Simulator

Host: Jiang Mo

Villain Points: 30

Available Trait: Berserk (Blue) (Cooldown: 23 hours, 59 minutes)

Current Status: Extreme hunger, minor external injuries, moderate mental exhaustion.

There was a great deal of text on the interface. Jiang Mo stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth as he struggled to process the information.

"A month, a whole damn month!"

"The damn system finally showed up! If it had come any later, I really would've starved to death in this hellhole!"

"Let's see... Villain Simulation System?"

"Thirty Villain Points? Looks like beating up those three animals was the right call."

Jiang Mo rubbed his temples.

This Berserk skill was powerful, but mental exhaustion felt horrible. His head was still throbbing painfully.

Just then, the interface flashed, and a new prompt appeared.

Host has completed a villainous act for the first time. Villain Simulator unlocked!

Would the host like to begin a simulation?

First Villain Simulation

Jiang Mo paused slightly. "Villain simulation?"

"The Villain Simulator is designed to simulate the life of a villain."

The system replied without emotion.

"Within the simulation, the host must play the role of a villain. Every villainous act will earn Villain Points."

"After the simulation ends, rewards will be evaluated and settled based on the Villain Points acquired."

"The higher the Villain Points, the more rewards the host may exchange from that simulation."

After hearing that, Jiang Mo more or less understood.

Put simply, he would play the villain, cause trouble, farm points, and exchange them for rewards?

"Though being a villain sounds like the kind of role that exists just to feed kills to the protagonist's group... I don't have a choice right now."

"Simulation, hero, villain—whatever. As long as I can become stronger and get rewards, that's enough!"

In this godforsaken place where he was about to starve or freeze to death, survival came first!

Everything else was bullshit!

"Begin the simulation."

Command confirmed. First simulation will begin shortly...

Drawing talent traits...

Trait grades range from white to red, from lowest to highest.

Please select three of the following five random talent traits as your initial talents for this simulation.

Digital Wooden Fish (White): Life is hard; cultivate electronically. Silently recite "Merit +1" in your heart to gain a calming effect.

Jiang Mo's eye twitched.

Were systems getting into cyber mysticism these days too?

One-star trash. Get lost.

Genius on the Left (Purple): Geniuses are on the left, madmen on the right. You perceive the world differently from ordinary people, making it easier for you to see the logic and loopholes behind rules, contracts, and systems. You excel at identifying others' weaknesses and exploiting them.

This one was good—a four-star trait!

Understanding rules, finding loopholes and weaknesses... it sounded perfect for doing bad things. He could take this one!

Silver Tongue (Blue): You were born knowing how to say things people wanted to hear, skilled at calling black white. Inciting others was easier for you, and harder for others to see through.

Though it was only a three-star trait, it was absolutely a god-tier skill!

If he could settle things with his fists, he would avoid arguing—but if he could win through words, why bother lifting a hand?

He wanted this one!

Misfortune Transfer (Blue): You are an unlucky person. Tripping while walking and choking on water are everyday occurrences for you.

Once a week, you may forcibly transfer one misfortune about to happen to you onto any target within thirty meters. Upon a successful transfer, you will gain a fixed +1 Villain Point.

Another three-star trait.

It looked like a great tool for screwing people over...

It could steadily farm points, but unfortunately, it came with the side effect of making his own luck worse. Besides, he could only choose three traits.

Just as he hesitated, the final trait entered his sight.

Trait Devour (Gold): After personally killing a target, you have a certain chance of capturing one random trait possessed by that target.

Captured traits are temporary traits, lasting anywhere from several hours to several days, but they have a chance of directly becoming permanent traits.

You may choose to load captured traits onto your own template.

He could not only devour traits, but load them onto himself?!

Jiang Mo grew excited. If he took this trait, would he not be able to grow infinitely by killing enemies?

Kill monsters, get trait drops! And there was even a chance to obtain them permanently!

There was some risk, but this ability was simply absurd!

As expected of a five-star god-tier skill!

The good stuff really came last!

What the hell was there left to hesitate about?!

Misfortune Transfer might be sneaky, but it had side effects. Compared to this talent that could snowball his strength, it was nowhere close.

That settled it!

"I choose Silver Tongue, Genius on the Left, and Trait Devour!"

Talent traits selected.

Your objective is to obtain as many Villain Points as possible before the simulation ends.

Note: Most abilities and items obtained in the simulation world cannot be brought out. However, after the simulation ends, Villain Points may be used to exchange for special items or talent traits that appeared during the simulation.

The simulation is about to begin. Please prepare yourself.

Loading simulation world...

Heh. With these three talents this time...

One trait was for talking, one was for using his brain to find loopholes in the rules, and one was for getting his hands dirty, killing and looting to snowball...

This opening was solid!

Jiang Mo licked his lips. His mental excitement temporarily overwhelmed his physical exhaustion and hunger.

"Interesting..."

The cold smile on his face became increasingly obvious.

"This world suddenly doesn't seem so bad."

Simulation begins.

Jiang Mo's mind buzzed. An intense wave of dizziness instantly seized him, and everything before his eyes suddenly slowed to a crawl... Time stopped.

His consciousness seemed to lose all weight as it plummeted rapidly into an endless abyss...

You are born at age 0.

Your mother passed away while you were still in swaddling clothes. She died in that terrible Stellaron disaster.

You and your younger sister are adopted by "the Family" of Penacony.

You are given the name "Sunday" and grow up under the protection of the Oak Family.

His consciousness floated as though he were observing another world through a thin membrane.

Jiang Mo felt that he had become this child named Sunday, yet he retained the clarity of an observer.

For his first simulation, he had actually gotten this heavyweight?

One of Penacony's masterminds, the chicken-winged boy, Sunday, who was obsessed with his little sister?

Though Brother Sunday had ultimately been utterly crushed by the protagonist's group, he had at least nearly become an Aeon. He counted as a respectable major villain.

But this starting setup—both parents dead, with a younger sister to raise?

A classic of classics.

At age 1, you rarely cry or fuss. You are quiet like a tiny adult.

When you are first able to pick up building blocks on your own, you instinctively arrange them neatly according to color and shape. You cannot tolerate even the slightest disorder.

At age 2, your powers of observation are astonishing.

You always sit quietly in the corner, carefully watching every move made by Family members and servants.

When you want milk, you never cry or make a fuss.

Through gestures far beyond your age, filled with implication, you make the servant responsible for caring for you not only willingly meet your needs, but even gladly bring you an extra serving.

Not bad, kid. He already knew how to manipulate people at two?

This had to be Silver Tongue taking effect, right?

At age 3, your younger sister Robin's singing is beautiful, one of the few bright colors in your life.

At age 4, you can already fluently recite the Oak Family's code.

You begin to develop curiosity far beyond your age toward the Family's complex internal power structure and methods of operation.

At age 5, you and your younger sister discover an abandoned harmony dove in the courtyard.