Thousand Tree District

Thousand Tree District.

They called it Thousand Tree District, but at least tens of thousands of trees grew here. Every one of them was immensely thick, and they gave off a fresh, clean scent.

If it weren't enslaved, Thousand Leaf Planet would have been an excellent ecological planet.

"Hiss~"

Han Han came to. At least four or five of his ribs were broken, but he had taken Inferior Purple Light Dew, and its lingering effects had given him an even greater ability to recover.

"The simulation never said I'd get knocked unconscious."

That was one drawback of text-based simulations: they couldn't cover every little detail. Only the main events stayed the same.

"Previous simulations also suggested Hua Chuan hadn't completely stopped paying attention to me, but that probably wouldn't last long." Han Han pondered.

"Let's not rush."

"Besides, this time I'll have more resources. I should be able to change how things went before."

The slaves in Thousand Tree District weren't allowed to focus on cultivation. They also had to gather Three Illusion Leaves, and they were required to collect even more than Apprentice Rank One or Two slaves.

The deeper parts of Three Illusion Tree Valley had very few detection devices.

Thousand Leaf Planet was simply a slave planet that supplied large numbers of Apprentice Rank Nine slaves. You could tell its defenses were mediocre from the fact that its strongest Supervisor was only Stellar Level One. They hadn't installed much surveillance equipment in some of the gathering areas.

Han Han could understand that.

It was like keeping a chicken in a bamboo cage or an iron cage. Both worked just as well, so why not save the iron cage for somewhere it was actually needed?

"Serial number 456-012366, proceed to Three Illusion Tree Valley and gather the required quantity of Three Illusion Leaves."

A mechanical voice rang out from the Tree House.

Serial number 456-012366 was Han Han's designation among the countless slaves on Thousand Leaf Planet.

Once the order was given, he had to obey immediately. Otherwise, he would face anything from punishment to outright execution. That was the intelligent system's execution code.

Han Han wasn't stupid. He gritted his teeth through the pain and hurried toward Three Illusion Tree Valley.

He had woken up at noon, and the Three Illusion Leaf quota was usually a full day's worth. It wasn't his fault, of course, but that wouldn't change the quota.

Naturally,

slaves were allowed to steal from one another!

Three Illusion Leaves were only a sideline for Thousand Leaf Planet. Selling a batch of high-quality slaves brought in as much as selling a year's worth of Three Illusion Leaves, so allowing theft was a way to spur them on to some extent.

And Han Han was Apprentice Rank Seven...

Once he entered Three Illusion Tree Valley, Han Han didn't start gathering right away. Instead, he pressed deeper into the valley.

He had to reach the inner area to avoid detection.

"This should be far enough."

"But to be safe..."

Han Han focused on the Life Simulator and used the one remaining simulation.

[Life simulation begins]

[Age 22. After angering Hua Chuan, you were brought back to Thousand Tree District and branded as an ordinary slave. For certain reasons, Hua Chuan could not execute you on the spot.]

[You escaped death.]

The simulation hit him with a shock right out of the gate!

The earlier simulations hadn't said that. The details had only become clearer as he got closer to the present.

[Dragging your injured body, you learn that you have not yet completed today's Three Illusion Leaf gathering quota, so you head to Three Illusion Tree Valley to collect Three Illusion Leaves.]

[You plan to head deeper into the valley.]

[However, you underestimate the size of Three Illusion Tree Valley. Your current location is still near the outskirts, where you are monitored by various devices. You are puzzled, though. Why do you want to head deeper? The Three Illusion Leaves are more or less the same inside and out.]

"It's that big!"

Han Han was startled. Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to run a simulation first. He had been planning to plant the Iron Vine Grass sapling in Three Illusion Tree Valley.

Luckily, his simulated self had no memories, and he hadn't taken out the Iron Vine Grass or the other items.

[You gather Three Illusion Leaves.]

[At sunset, you rob two Apprentice Rank Five slaves and make up your gathering quota. They are furious, but they don't dare say anything because of your strength.]

[You alternate between gathering Three Illusion Leaves and cultivating.]

[Age 23. You successfully break through to Apprentice Rank Eight. This level of strength makes you one of the higher-ups in Thousand Tree District, and you are now a relatively high-quality slave.]

[Age 24. You cultivate diligently.]

[Age 29. You feel that you could break through to Apprentice Rank Nine at any time, but you yearn for freedom and cannot accept...]

[You thought Pansy wouldn't kill you even if she refused, since you had faced everything together. Unfortunately, you were wrong. Pansy had never considered you her friend.]

[You die.]

[This simulation has ended.]

[Evaluation...]

This simulation was much the same as the others. He still hadn't brought out the Iron Vine Grass sapling, Locke Divine Water, or other key variables, but it had still been useful.

At least now he knew where he was.

"One drop of Locke Divine Water and fifty thousand Cuilang Coins." Han Han chose without hesitation.

Locke Divine Water was the key resource for cultivating Iron Vine Grass. After a year, he had accumulated about six milliliters, enough to raise the Iron Vine Grass sapling to Planetary Rank.

Han Han didn't hesitate any longer. He leaped up and swiftly climbed the vines hanging down from the Three Illusion Tree. Three Illusion Leaves grew around the middle and upper parts of the trees.

"I'll gather first. I'll think about it again in three days."

He had plenty of time, and the situation left no room for the slightest mistake. Waiting three days to run another simulation and make sure was well worth it.

Sunset.

"Sure enough, it's not enough."

Han Han looked at the Three Illusion Leaves he had gathered. Even after giving it everything he had, he was still one-fifth short.

"I'd thought I could try to change the events in the simulation by working harder. Looks like my simulated self probably thought the same thing."

"Whoosh!"

Two figures flashed past.

"Apprentice Rank Five."

Han Han was far stronger than they were. He could tell they had carefully tried to avoid him, but the difference in strength was plain to see.

"Stop!" Han Han barked.

With a whoosh, he rushed toward them and snatched the Three Illusion Leaves from their backs. They tried to fight back, but the gap in strength was too great.

An Apprentice Rank Five cultivator had a strength of about 16 t, while Han Han had 64 t.

After checking their haul, Han Han couldn't help smiling. They had gathered more than they needed.

If the quota was ten, they had gathered eleven, or even twelve. Taking the extra leaves would just about make up for the shortfall in his own quota.

"So that's how it is!"

He had thought he'd need to rob several people, taking a little from each to reach his quota. There was no need to keep picking on just the two of them. Turns out it had worked out perfectly.

"You can go."

He tossed the remaining Three Illusion Leaves back to them.

They were delighted at first, but the realization that they were still the ones who'd lost quickly wiped the smiles from their faces. They grabbed their Three Illusion Leaves and hurried toward the valley exit.

After thinking it over, Han Han still called out a warning.

"I've memorized your faces. You're Apprentice Rank Five, and you live near me. You'd better know what to do."

Stealing was allowed, but they shouldn't make it too obvious.

After finishing the task, Han Han ran toward the exit too. The dull ache in his chest urged him to hurry back and rest.

For the next three days,

Han Han did much the same thing: after gathering, he returned to the Tree House to cultivate and recuperate. When his simulation count refreshed, he headed deeper into the valley this time.