The Corpse Demon's Hand

"You died."

"Temporary talent Hunger Endurance (white) has disappeared."

"This simulation has ended."

"Rating: B+.

Comment: Though your survival was brief, your experiences were enough to make a movie.

Rewards: base reward for a B+ rating: 500 Origin Jade;

Acquired temporary talent Hunger Endurance (white): +1 Origin Jade;

Discovered a safe house: +10 Origin Jade;

Contained the 'Fiend Hand': +100 Origin Jade;

Tore apart the Shadow Fiend: +10 Origin Jade; evaded the Shadow Fiend's pursuit four times: +12 Origin Jade;

Talent Upgrade Talisman (blue) ×1, Talent Upgrade Talisman (green) ×3.

Wallet balance: 51 + 633 = 684 Origin Jade."

Fully clearing the Shadow Fiend scenario and making significant gains within it had earned Su Wu a B+ rating outright.

Most of the rewards this time came from clearing the Shadow Fiend scenario.

In the Lantern Fiend's territory, he had earned only two rewards: discovering a safe house and acquiring the Hunger Endurance (white) talent.

The safe house was the Little Temple where he had stayed for so long.

The simulator provided a detailed explanation: "Entering a safe house during a simulated future will automatically save your progress.

While inside a safe house, you are highly unlikely to be attacked by supernatural entities, but this cannot prevent certain powerful entities from demolishing the safe house.

Entering a safe house in the real world is no different from doing so in a simulated future, except that it does not save your progress."

The simulator's notification confirmed that the Little Temple existed not only in the simulated future, but in reality as well.

Yet Su Wu often walked down that street and had never noticed such a temple.

The temple itself looked conspicuous and stood apart from the other buildings. He did not think he could have been careless enough to overlook its existence.

"I should go to that street tomorrow and check it out in person."

Su Wu relaxed and began browsing the things he could bring out of the simulated future.

The very first item made his eyes bulge.

Option 0: Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand.

Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand: bringing this item into reality costs 2,000 Origin Jade.

As this item was formed by combining the supernatural entity within your personal item, the 'Mysterious Copper-Wrapped Skeleton,' with part of the Shadow Fiend, you will only be charged 1% of the item's actual value.

Upon bringing this item into reality, the simulator will contain it within the host free of charge.

Current containment success rate: 1%.

Compatibility with the host: 0%.

If containment fails, the entity will awaken and kill the host.

Please explore this item's specific uses yourself.

Its side effects are as follows:

Frequent use of the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand will cause the Shadow Fiend to appear at random within a fifty-li radius of you and approach you. The higher your compatibility with the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand, the lower the probability of the Shadow Fiend appearing.

Every use of the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand will consume your energy and life force. When your life force is completely depleted, the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand will fully awaken. The higher your compatibility with the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand, the less life force it consumes, potentially approaching zero.

Even if you do not use the Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand, it will fully awaken within one to three years of successful containment. Its awakening will kill the host unless you possess a means or item capable of keeping it in check.

Compared to such a badass item, three side effects might not seem like much.

But if any of those three side effects kicked in, it would be enough to kill him!

What kind of lunatic would bring something like this into reality?

And pay 2,000 Origin Jade for it?

I wouldn't take this thing even if it were free!

Su Wu fell silent for a while.

Deep down, he knew perfectly well how valuable this Fiend Hand was-its ability to effortlessly tear apart the Shadow Fiend and open an escape route alone revealed its immense potential.

But containing this Fiend Hand within himself meant that he, a man only in his twenties, would have at most ten years left to live, and at worst only one!

Under the effects of its various side effects, he might not even last a year.

Compared to its value, the price of possessing it was simply too high.

Yet the supernatural entities would soon awaken, and the world would become utterly divorced from what it once was. In such circumstances, who could guarantee they would live peacefully to a ripe old age?

Su Wu was deeply torn.

Fortunately, now that the 'Corpse Buddha Ghost Hand' had appeared among the options, it would not disappear. It would remain there, giving him plenty of time to consider.

Especially since his current success rate for containing the Fiend Hand was only 1%. Bringing it out and containing it right now would truly be asking for death.

Su Wu had one possible avenue to try for improving both the Fiend Hand's containment success rate and its compatibility with him: spending 500 Origin Jade to enter the past life of the Gang Cave relic's owner.

Perhaps a way to improve both percentages lay hidden there.

He might even improve both percentages simply by experiencing everything the relic's owner had experienced.

He currently had 684 Origin Jade, enough for one attempt.

However, that would have to wait until he had successfully escaped the Shadow Fiend's and Lantern Fiend's territories in reality and found a truly safe place to stay.

Until then, he needed to invest as much of his Origin Jade as possible in simulations of the future.

Only when he truly had enough Origin Jade to afford a little extravagance would Su Wu consider exploring the past life of the Gang Cave's owner.

"Redeem option 1: the Pain Transfer (white) talent.

Redeem option 2: the Hunger Endurance (white) talent.

Consume two Talent Upgrade Talismans (green) to upgrade both talents to green quality!

Consume one Talent Upgrade Talisman (blue) to upgrade Koi Blessing (green) to blue quality!"

The simulator informed Su Wu that three green talismans could be upgraded into one blue talisman.

He ignored the notification and issued his own instructions to the simulator.

Soon, a warm current swept through his entire body, and the talents all became one with him.

Koi Blessing (blue): your luck far surpasses that of ordinary people, giving you an extremely high chance of acquiring mysterious items of good quality.

Pain Transfer (green): while smoking or watching adult films, you can remain unfazed even under torture such as the Tiger Bench, branding irons, or having your fingernails pulled out.

Hunger Endurance (green): you are among those ordinary people who are exceptionally capable of enduring hunger. Even under extreme starvation, you can retain 60% of your normal capacity for action.

Su Wu now had five talents.

He had two blue talents: Composure and Koi Blessing.

The remaining talents-Pain Transfer, Dark Walker, and Hunger Endurance-were all green.

Together, these five talents had raised his overall capabilities beyond those of an ordinary person. In harsh conditions, his chances of survival would undoubtedly be much higher than most people's.

Four of these five talents were directly related to survival.

After reviewing the 'assets' he possessed within the simulator, Su Wu exited it.

It was already late at night.

He glanced out the window, then lay down on his bed to sleep.

He needed to get some proper rest. Tomorrow, he would begin dealing with his real-world assets so they could help him more effectively in the future, when the supernatural entities awakened!