Complete Retreat, Continue Gathering Intelligence!

A few scattered questions lingered in Su Ze's mind...

Without a doubt, this round of simulation had once again provided him with quite a bit of useful information about the apocalypse.

For example, the area around the school would become a Safe Zone.

It would remain safe even after more than twenty days, and order was maintained fairly well.

The only issue was a shortage of supplies.

But...

Some more critical intelligence about the apocalypse was still ambiguous.

Why did Contamination Zones contain deadly threats...

Were Safe Zones absolutely safe...

What exactly was the path to becoming an Awakened...

All kinds of questions swirled in his mind, with no precise answers for the time being.

What puzzled Su Ze most was how he had died in nearly identical ways twice.

After returning to the residential complex where his Safe House was located and destroying the so-called Pollution Source, he had inexplicably been targeted by Terror Hounds and died in his sleep.

The causes of his two deaths had also been similar.

Both times, his simulated self had wanted to explore the key to becoming an Awakened...

There was nothing wrong with such a desire, of course.

Just as his roommate had lamented in the simulation—the new era had arrived.

Perhaps this new era was the era of the Awakened.

What could be wrong with wanting to keep up with the times and become someone who rode its waves...

"The simulation showed that on the nineteenth day, other people tried to imitate the known method of becoming Awakened, but they failed..."

Su Ze flipped back through the simulation records that had yet to be overwritten.

Could the information he had obtained about becoming an Awakened have been wrong...

Was that why both he and the others had failed whenever they tried to imitate it?

Or perhaps the information itself was fine, and he had merely made mistakes in certain crucial steps...

"One step at a time, one bite at a time."

Pulling his thoughts back together, Su Ze murmured to himself.

Clearly, two or three simulations were not enough for him to glimpse the full picture of the apocalypse.

Since the simulation records were relatively brief, some information worth noting might have been omitted.

That was precisely why he needed to be more patient.

Whether it was the proper path to becoming an Awakened, or the true origins of Contamination Zones and Safe Zones.

All of it would eventually surface, piece by piece, as the number of simulations increased.

And if he drew a useful talent in a later simulation.

His progress in gathering intelligence on the apocalypse would definitely speed up...

The Simulator's cooldown has ended...

Without wasting a second, Su Ze started another simulation the moment the cooldown ended.

Doomsday Simulation has begun...

Please choose one of the following three talents as your innate talent for this simulation!

Complete Retreat (Purple): Before encountering a fatal danger, activate this talent to gain inspiration for escaping the danger unscathed. When using this talent, pay attention to its duration and cooldown time.

Wind Whisperer (Blue): You can use the winds of nature to transmit or receive messages across long distances.

Banana Master (White): You love eating bananas. After eating one, your body will become stronger for a short time.

A purple talent had appeared...

Su Ze made his decision almost without hesitation. He would choose "Complete Retreat" as his innate talent for this simulation...

However, before choosing the talent, he first tried to figure out the proper way to use it.

Since activating this talent...

Would allow him to find a way to survive all kinds of deadly dangers.

Then even if he was targeted by the nightmare Terror Hounds again, like in the previous two simulations, he should have a chance of surviving...

And besides.

As long as the talent's duration lasted, he should have considerable confidence in exploring dangerous areas...

Talent selected: "Complete Retreat (Purple)"

Simulation begins...

Day 1: The apocalypse arrived as scheduled. You and your roommates stayed in the dormitory and watched the official news. At noon, the teachers informed everyone that no one was allowed to leave the campus.

Day 2: The temperature dropped. You put on thermal underwear, hid beneath your blankets, and calmly surfed the internet all day.

Day 3: As panic spread, unrest broke out at the school. Fortunately, it was not too serious.

Day 4: The water and electricity were cut off...

Day 5: Terrifying incidents erupted across a wider area. Many people died, while others fled to the school for shelter.

Day 6: The school was completely sealed off...

Day 7: A light snow fell. The school organized people to maintain order, and you actively joined because you wanted to learn any news about Awakened as soon as possible.

Day 8: Panic spread silently. Because of your handsome looks and exceptional mental fortitude, you were assigned to the girls' dormitory to provide psychological support.

Day 9: Influenced by the incident on the sports field, more than one girl wanted to sleep with you. You rejected them ugly.

Day 10: You attended a meeting and learned that official operations had been hindered. The school needed to save itself.

Day 11: You spent the entire day patrolling with a team.

Day 12: Taking advantage of your position, you slipped out of the school to test the Complete Retreat talent. The results were excellent.

Day 13: You returned to the school, where an Awakened appeared.

Day 14: Promoted to Security Team captain, you took the opportunity to speak with the Awakened and obtained definite information...

The conditions for becoming an Awakened seemed to involve two things. One was coming into contact with a Pollution Source, while the other was having a nightmare.

You pressed her for details about the nightmare, but she told you she could not remember it.

Day 15: A second Awakened appeared at the school. After asking around, you learned that he had also gained strength far beyond that of ordinary people and become an Awakened after a nightmare. However, you did not know whether he had come into contact with a Pollution Source.

You left the school.

Well, damn...

He really had been patient.

He had hidden at the school for a full half month, refusing to leave until he had gathered all the information he wanted.

Next, he should be going to replicate the path to becoming an Awakened, right?

As he thought that, Su Ze suddenly smacked his lips. "Tsk... no, that's not right. The last two times I died, I also came into contact with a Pollution Source, but I never awakened. The nightmares, on the other hand, just kept coming one after another."

He had no idea what exactly was wrong...

But Su Ze felt a vague unease in his heart.

Day 16: You arrived at your residence near the school. Living off the food stored there, you ate a hearty meal.

You made a plan and decided to thoroughly investigate the area around the school first. You wanted to know about every Contamination Zone and Safe Zone nearby...

Huh?

The simulation record before him made Su Ze pause slightly.

He had thought that his simulated self would return once more to that upscale residential complex of standalone homes...

It seemed that he was not the only one who had doubts about the intelligence.

His simulated self also had reservations about it.

That was why he had not acted rashly.

Rather than directly reproducing someone else's route to becoming an Awakened step for step.

He had changed his objective, prioritizing an investigation into the Contamination Zones near the school...

That way, he could fully make use of his Complete Retreat talent.

And the intelligence he obtained would come from personally risking his life and investigating firsthand, so he would not need to worry about being deceived by anyone else...