How to Play the Simulator (Two-in-One)

All around her was a vast expanse of white. Ning Rongrong climbed to her feet, and beside her was Zhao Xiaoya, who had also been sucked into the Purple Stone.

Compared to Ning Rongrong, Zhao Xiaoya looked remarkably calm. It was obvious she knew what the stone did.

"This isn't your first time here?"

Though Ning Rongrong had suspected as much, she still hadn't quite believed that Zhao Xiaoya knew about this place. When they'd been sucked into the stone earlier, she'd keenly noticed that Zhao Xiaoya hadn't resisted at all, as if she'd known what was going to happen.

Zhao Xiaoya turned her head slowly. The corners of her mouth stretched into a chilling grin.

"So you found out."

She spoke softly, taking one step at a time toward Ning Rongrong. Ning Rongrong backed away in fright. "Y-you, what are you going to do?"

Zhao Xiaoya tilted her head. "Get rid of you. One Soul Saint and one Titled Douluo—how am I supposed to fight them? But you're just a Soul Elder. Getting rid of you will be a piece of cake."

"Do we have some kind of grudge? Why are you trying to get rid of me?" Ning Rongrong shouted, already preparing to fight.

The person in front of her was probably somewhere between Soul Elder and Soul King. She had a chance.

"Actually, I don't have anything against you." As Zhao Xiaoya spoke, she charged at Ning Rongrong. The dagger in her hand reflected the purple light shining from the irregular, many-sided walls. "But you came in here. Doesn't that mean you're stopping me from becoming the Saintess?"

"Huh?" Ning Rongrong dodged to the side, then asked in disbelief, "Do you have to become the Saintess?"

"Whoa, you dodged!" Zhao Xiaoya came to a sudden stop, turned, and attacked Ning Rongrong again. "Of course I do. The Saintess can communicate with the Holy God and gain tremendous power. This power of mine was bestowed by the Holy God."

The attack came too fast for Ning Rongrong to dodge. She could only rely on Trapped Beast to lessen the damage. But it was a blade, after all, and she still ended up with a cut.

Communicate with the Holy God...

Ning Rongrong realized what was going on. "So you were lying to us all along? You've never killed anyone, and you lied about them planning to sacrifice you and all that. Even the story about your grandpa dying was a lie?"

Ning Rongrong kicked the weapon out of Zhao Xiaoya's hand, planted her feet, and swung her left fist, landing a solid blow on Zhao Xiaoya's face.

"Hehe, don't tell me you actually fell for it?" Zhao Xiaoya wiped away the blood she'd spat out. Some of it was green. "Whoa, your punch had poison on it. A Soul Skill, or actual poison? Good thing I have a Soul Skill that can cure poison."

"Why did you lie to us?" Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth. She hadn't been fooled many times in her life.

She clenched her right fist and swung again.

But Zhao Xiaoya had recovered and caught it.

"You three are all idiots, aren't you? I'm an Evil Soul Master. Of course I'm going to lie!"

"Damn it." Ning Rongrong tried to pull her hand free, but Zhao Xiaoya held it fast. She couldn't get it back at all. Just then, Zhao Xiaoya drew a Bone Dagger from beneath her skirt and slashed at her.

Ning Fengzhi and the others had taken all the weapons from her earlier. These two daggers were the effect of her Soul Skill!

Ning Rongrong couldn't dodge in time. The blade cut her left arm.

"There's a power on you that's weakening my attacks." After her two attacks had barely made a dent, Zhao Xiaoya had noticed. She licked her lips and smiled. "How interesting. But how long can that power last?"

"Tch!" Ning Rongrong knocked the dagger away with her left arm, dispelled Trapped Beast, and activated Strength Amplification. She pulled her right hand free and darted to the side.

She was starting to pant. Six hours of training had helped, but only this much. She still couldn't adapt to someone's attacks on the fly. For instance, she hadn't been able to defend against the Bone Dagger lying on the ground exploding behind her—but fortunately, the blast wasn't very powerful...

It had only knocked her down.

"Mmhmm, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul. So that's where that strange strength comes from."

Ning Rongrong struggled to lift her head. Zhao Xiaoya was approaching her one step at a time. Just as Ning Rongrong tried to get up, Zhao Xiaoya crouched down and pressed the Bone Dagger to her throat.

"Don't move. I know that once you use Strength Amplification, you can't use that ability to reduce damage anymore, right? I'm a hundred percent sure this blade will kill you. Or would you rather this dagger exploded?"

Ning Rongrong glared at her, her face twisted with fury and unwillingness.

She'd been caught off guard.

She hadn't seen it coming.

Now the only thing she could rely on was the Eight Spider Lances on her back. But she had no idea how to use them. The Silver Dragon King hadn't taught her, and the Holy God had never used them either. Naturally, she hadn't the faintest clue.

As she thought it over, a sharp pain flared in her throat.

"Sorry. Looking at you, I can't help wanting to destroy you. Ah, you're so beautiful."

"Can I ask you something?" Ning Rongrong asked through the pain.

"Oh?" Zhao Xiaoya gave her a mocking smile. "Do you have any room to bargain? Just kidding. I'm a really nice person. Go ahead."

"Why did you want to become the Saintess if you weren't on the cross? If you were lying to me before, then what were those bones? What happened to them?"

Zhao Xiaoya cut her again, savoring Ning Rongrong's expression with amusement. Every so often, she let out a few "Mm, ah" sounds.

Ning Rongrong was furious at Zhao Xiaoya's behavior.

Why wouldn't she answer?

"Mm... Were you waiting for me to answer? But I let you ask. Why would I have to answer?"

As if she could tell what Ning Rongrong was thinking, Zhao Xiaoya said.

Fine. I'll go all out.

Ning Rongrong thought, then sprang into action.

Compared to Trapped Beast, she felt Strength Amplification might be more useful right now.

Enduring the pain, she took Zhao Xiaoya by surprise and knocked the dagger away. Then the dagger exploded.

She felt the pain in her throat, the warmth flowing down her neck, and her mind growing hazy. At last, she struggled to her feet and charged at Zhao Xiaoya, ready to fight to the death.

And the result, of course, was that she saw Zhao Xiaoya take out another dagger and aim it at her throat.

"Swish."

Ning Rongrong's body came to a halt. At the crucial moment, she had switched back to Trapped Beast and shifted slightly to the side. That was the only reason she hadn't died.

Warm liquid flowed from her shoulder, and her back felt hot. The next moment, eight silver-white, metallic spider-leg-like lances sprouted from her body, tearing through her clothes as they struck at Zhao Xiaoya.

Zhao Xiaoya was clearly startled when she saw the eight spider-leg lances. "What are those?"

She quickly darted aside, conjured bone-made throwing knives, and hurled them at Ning Rongrong.

The Eight Spider Lances still hadn't hit Zhao Xiaoya. Ning Rongrong had no idea how to use this brand-new thing.

Instead, Zhao Xiaoya's familiar skill with Hidden Weapons hit Ning Rongrong.

"Trapped Beast" wasn't omnipotent.

Ning Rongrong staggered back a few steps. Her vision slowly darkened.

It was over.

She heard Zhao Xiaoya murmuring.

"To become a Saintess, you need to complete three steps. First, you're chosen and become a Saintess candidate;

"Second, you wait on the cross for the Holy God to look upon you. During this process, the weaklings die;

"Third, you wait for the flames to burn out. The officiant's soul is sublimated, and I become a true—Saintess."

What was she saying? Why was she telling her this?

Ning Rongrong closed her eyes and fell backward.

The Eight Spider Lances still seemed to be moving, but they weren't enough to hold Ning Rongrong up.

Was it over...?

Was she going to die?

No, she wouldn't die. The Holy God would rewind time. As long as he turned it back to that night at the Great Soul Arena, they could try again—

But what if the Holy God abandoned her?

Ning Rongrong remembered what the Silver Dragon King had said. For the first time, she was afraid that the Holy God might abandon her.

It was a strange feeling, one she couldn't put into words.

She lay on the ground. The floor was ice-cold.

She could still hear the sounds outside through the floor. They were still fighting fiercely.

"Damn it, Bone Uncle, can't you break through his defense?"

"I can't break through at all. This space is restricting my attacks!"

It looked like her father and the others were losing, too.

If only she hadn't brought the two of them along...

More and more memories surged into Ning Rongrong's mind. They raced past like scenes in a lantern show, announcing that her death was near—

-

"Is she dead?"

Ning Rongrong could no longer tell whose voice it was. Zhao Asi, Zhao Xiaoya, or someone else?

-

"Is this world really so dangerous? I wasn't there, and even with Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong around, she still died?"

Was that Sword Grandpa? Ning Rongrong couldn't help thinking so.

-

"Forget it..."

-

Lu Ma sat in front of his computer, watching the game Dark Douluo.

It was four in the morning.

A short while earlier.

In the middle of the night, Lu Ma had felt his head buzzing as chaotic thoughts crashed into one another. His head hurt terribly. He'd tried to break free on his own, but couldn't manage it at all.

The symptoms had lasted until three-thirty. Only when his mind had been so battered that it could no longer produce new thoughts did he finally feel better. Then—he woke up.

When he opened his eyes, the room was pitch-black.

He didn't have a habit of drawing the curtains before bed. If anything, he liked sleeping with them open.

When he opened his eyes, dawn hadn't broken yet, and the moon hadn't completely set.

The first thing he did was pick up his phone and check for new messages.

There really were a few.

First, customer service for the game that had stopped updating had sent him revised contract terms. In short, he no longer had to stream the game, and the other party would pay his wages in a lump sum.

Next was a file from Dolphin Head.

"Do these two official accounts have normal sleep schedules?" Lu Ma muttered.

[Dark Douluo alpha0.2 patch.zip, 17.1 MB]

[Patch notes, 1 KB]

He wasn't particularly interested in going back to sleep, so he turned on his computer and downloaded the patch. Besides fixing some known bugs, this patch mainly added three things.

It optimized the characters' controls. It also replaced the AI system so the characters could perform a wider variety of actions.

It improved the quest system. Players could now see up to three quests on the left side of the game interface.

It added a simulator mode, also known as system auto-play. When the player wasn't around, the game would automatically simulate what happened next and display it as text.

Seeing simulator mode, Lu Ma seriously wondered if it had been there all along and had only been bugged before, which was why he'd started the game right in front of Zhao Wuji.

But overall, Lu Ma was pretty satisfied.

The shaders were ready. Lu Ma clicked "Continue Game." The screen immediately turned black, and white text appeared.

[Day 0. The Great Soul Arena incident is over. You're tired, so you collapse into bed.]

[Day 1. Shrek Academy gives you a day off. You decide to cultivate. Your mental strength increases.]

[Day 2. You decide to help Oscar hunt Soul Beasts with your companions and head to the Star Dou Great Forest. Your physical fitness increases.]

[Day 3. You enter the Star Dou Great Forest and trigger a special quest event. You accept the quest: disrupt the Third Saintess Ritual. Your mental strength, physical fitness, Soul Skill proficiency, and comprehension increase.]

[Day 4. You return to Shrek Academy. You aren't tired, so you decide to complete the quest to disrupt the Third Saintess Ritual right away, and put your plan into action.]

[To increase your chances of success, you specifically invite Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong to join the operation. You arrive at the site of the Third Saintess Ritual.]

[You're attacked. The danger awakens your body's potential. The Eight Spider Lances status changes from unavailable to enabled.]

[You died.]

"Hmm..."

Lu Ma stared at the words "You died" on the screen, unsure what to say.

The system had taken over, and the character had died.

"Is she dead?" Lu Ma narrowed his eyes, still not quite believing it. "Is this world really so dangerous? I wasn't there, and even with Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong around, she still died?"

"Forget it..."

He sighed.

A line of small text appeared beneath the screen:

[Press any key to view available save files. Simulated saves don't use up save slots, and only one can be stored at a time.]

Lu Ma clicked the left mouse button.

[Available save 1: Near death (health at 1; receive all rewards gained during the simulation)]

[Available save 2: Day 4 (Eight Spider Lances unavailable); random factors added, outcome of future events unknown. P.S. The worldline has changed.]

...

[Other: Load the save you have stored.]

Lu Ma read through all the simulated saves and understood roughly what they meant.

Every time a reward was obtained during the simulation, a simulated save would be created. If he chose that save, he wouldn't get any rewards that came afterward, and the events might not happen either.

Under these circumstances, his only options were the near-death save and the Day 4 save. If he went back any further, he wouldn't have accepted the quest to disrupt the Third Saintess Ritual, and he'd lose a huge pile of rewards. As for his own save, Lu Ma didn't even consider it. Wouldn't that be a waste of the development team's careful design? Besides, he had no particular desire to go to the Star Dou Great Forest. He'd rather see exactly why he'd died.

So he chose the first option.

The screen froze. Then came a glass-shattering effect, and the entire interface broke into pieces and fell away.

The game screen appeared.

The reddish tint and pitch-black health bar both reminded Lu Ma that the character was about to die.

And the character?

Ning Rongrong was lying on the ground, with a translucent purple stone beside her.

"Where is this?"

Lu Ma frowned, but didn't dwell on it. He opened the character panel immediately.

[Ning Rongrong, 12 years old, Level 33, Tool Soul Elder]

[Martial Soul: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda (+2)]

[Physical Fitness: Level 26; Mental Strength: Level 35]

[External Soul Bone: Eight Spider Lances (+1)]

"Isn't that a little too generous with the physical fitness increase?"

Lu Ma was overjoyed. The next moment, he switched to his inventory and took out a Health Potion.