Simulated Ending: Insurmountable Genius

Inside the simulation space, the deep blue light slowly dissipated. Lines of cold text froze on the retina, plunging Ichinose Honami into a long silence.

[Simulation Ended]

[Simulation Outcome: The Unsurpassable Genius]

[Simulation Comment: You were too guarded against someone, draining all your favorability. As a result, although the other party kept their promise, they had no intention of letting you graduate from Class A.]

[Simulation Rating: C]

[Reward Talent Points: 10]

Ichinose Honami looked at the settlement screen appearing before her, her heart a complex mix of emotions. She subconsciously checked her remaining talent points.

[Talent Points: 15]

The numbers flickered quietly in the corner. Closing her eyes, the long and oppressive three years of this simulation flooded into her mind like a tide.

In fact, the simulator allowed for the drawing of talents and, to a certain extent, manual intervention.

Relying on the top-tier detective talent she had drawn with the system's reward this time, she had meticulously sifted through clues in the simulation, successfully seizing a series of handles on Nagumo Miyabi. She eventually brought him down and naturally ascended to the position of student council president.

It was a pity that this powerful detective talent was too expensive; she couldn't afford to exchange for it now.

The process of holding out until the third year in the simulation had been exceptionally difficult. Because Wu-kun had kept his promise to "help Class B during special exams," Class B had weathered the storms of the first two years without major incident, despite a bumpy journey.

However, it was precisely because she had seen the terrifying side of Wu-kun that Ichinose Honami had lived with extreme caution in this life.

Her attitude toward Wu-kun was respectful to the point of being servile, yet as distant as if she were facing a nuclear bomb ready to detonate at any moment. She guarded against him as if he were a terrorist. This differential treatment was too obvious; she remained as warm as a spring breeze to other classmates, but only toward Wu-kun did her smile hide an impenetrable vigilance.

Although Wu-kun didn't say it explicitly, Ichinose could sense his dissatisfaction. Toward the later stages, the two drifted further and further apart. The relationship, which had been decent in the first simulation, plummeted to freezing point this time.

The ending occurred in the final two months of the last semester. The boy who had originally been lazy and only wanted to coast through his days suddenly seemed like a different person. He stopped playing those schemes and stopped targeting anyone, instead burying himself in the library.

Then, something that shocked the entire school and even the world happened: Wu-kun had single-handedly solved a Millennium Prize Problem that had plagued the mathematical community!

This earth-shattering academic achievement brought immeasurable honor to the school and an astronomical amount of class points as a reward for Class D.

Class D's class points, which had been at the bottom, instantly skyrocketed, leaping into the position of Class A in an incredible display. Meanwhile, the class led by Ichinose Honami was forcibly pushed down, completely losing the qualification to graduate from Class A.

One could only say... this time, he didn't destroy the world, nor did he act as that cold Tyrant. He simply activated genius mode and crushed everything with absolute strength.

Although from a secular perspective, this seemed like a decent ending—after all, Wu-kun hadn't hurt anyone and had even made an academic contribution—for Ichinose Honami, it was undoubtedly the greatest failure. Her dream of leading everyone in Class B to graduate from Class A had been completely shattered.

Because Wu-kun was unhappy, he could raise the class points to five digits at any time. There was no need to compete; he could make all his rivals despair effortlessly.

"So... Wu-kun, what exactly did you come to Advanced Nurturing High School for?" Ichinose Honami muttered to herself, her heart filled with confusion.

She carefully recalled these two vastly different life trajectories.

In the first simulation, Wu-kun was lazy and casual, becoming good friends with her. Only when he was thoroughly provoked and pushed into a corner would he bare his fangs and suppress the world with force.

But this time, simply because she was too guarded and made him feel unhappy, he switched modes and embarked on the path of an invincible genius.

It felt... like a player with a max-level account who wasn't having fun playing the game, so they simply started cheating or flipped the table and quit.

The only difference was the target of his actions. In the first, he targeted forces Ichinose Honami still didn't know; in the second, he targeted her alone, declaring his dissatisfaction in a way that was almost capricious yet absolutely powerful.

Ichinose Honami suddenly felt that Wu-kun was a complex person, unfathomable, as if hiding countless masks. Yet, upon reflection, he also seemed terrifyingly simple.

Treat him well, and he would treat you well, willing to laugh and curse with you. Treat him badly, or make him feel uncomfortable, and he would immediately bare his fangs, leaving you with nothing but regret.

"Like a child who hasn't grown up, yet possesses the power to destroy the world..." Ichinose Honami sighed, helplessness showing in her eyes.

After a full week of exploration and trial and error, Wu-kun finally summarized a set of simple rules regarding "Path Practice." He discovered that so-called practice didn't necessarily require earth-shattering events; certain daily behaviors could also count as low-tier practice.

For example, the [Path of Gluttony]: besides eating frantically to satisfy one's appetite, the simple act of "eating" itself could accumulate meager experience. The [Path of Elation] could be triggered by sharing joy and creating fun, while the [Path of The Hunt] could be achieved through strict self-discipline and setting goals.

Although these "low-tier" practices gave pitifully little experience, it was better than nothing, at least proving that the direction he was exploring was correct.

Of course, the easiest way to grind experience was still the [Path of Erudition]. Regardless of whether he could fully understand it, as long as he opened a book to read and study, the experience bar would rise steadily.

The problem was that while the Path of Erudition was the easiest to grind, the process was extremely painful. The soreness of his brain being forced to run at high speed made his scalp tingle.

Moreover, the buffs it gave were also very "stingy." Aside from improving cognitive processing and logical deduction, it neither strengthened the body nor increased charm—it was simply a bookworm's path that only knew how to read.

At this moment, in the Class D classroom, Wu-kun was leaning lazily against his chair as usual, toying with a bag of fruit candies in his hand.

When classmates passed by, he would casually hand one over, a harmless and gentle smile on his face.

Just then, his neighbor, Wang Meiyu, walked over. Wu-kun's eyes lit up, and in a volume only the two of them could hear, he suddenly switched to fluent Chinese: "Morning, classmate Wang."

Wang Meiyu was stunned for a moment, then responded with pleasant surprise in Chinese: "Morning! I didn't expect Wu-kun to speak Chinese so well!"

In a class full of islanders, hearing her native tongue made Wang Meiyu feel a sense of intimacy. Although Wu-kun was a native of this country in this life (the surname "Wu" did exist there), he hadn't forgotten his linguistic memories as a Chinese person from his previous life, allowing him to have barrier-free encrypted conversations with Wang Meiyu.

"It's alright, my elders taught me," Wu-kun casually fabricated a reason without changing his expression, then took out his notebook and ballpoint pen with a serious look. "By the way, classmate Wang, I wanted to ask you a question. How much do you know about cooking Chinese food?"

Wang Meiyu blinked, looking a bit dazed: "Chinese food? Are you trying to learn how to cook?"

"Yeah, I've been researching it lately," Wu-kun nodded solemnly, his pen ready to record. "Today, I want to talk about Di San Xian. How should the eggplant in this dish be handled so it's flavorful but not greasy? Should it be deep-fried or pan-fried first? Should the potatoes be cut into chunks or thick slices?"

Seeing Wu-kun's serious expression, as if he were discussing state secrets, Wang Meiyu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Who would have thought that this boy, who always looked indifferent in class, was secretly recording recipes in a notebook so earnestly?

"Alright, alright, I'll teach you," Wang Meiyu said with a smile, leaning in closer and beginning to explain in detail in Chinese: "First, the eggplant should be cut into chunks and salted to draw out the moisture; that way, it won't absorb oil when you fry it..."

Wu-kun listened while rapidly recording every step in his notebook, occasionally asking for details. To others, they were just having a friendly exchange in a foreign language; but in reality, Wu-kun was using this special method to practice his painful yet necessary [Path of Erudition].

After all, recipes and cooking methods were also a form of tangible knowledge, weren't they?