Relic

In a space so dark he could not see his own hand, an enormous clock face floated in midair.

Su Wu sat upright and listened carefully to the electronic voice by his ear: "Welcome to the Perfect Life Simulator!"

"Your wallet balance is 3 Origin Jade. A personal life simulation costs 1 Origin Jade."

"Would you like to spend Origin Jade to bring real-world items into the simulation?"

"Yes," Su Wu answered at once.

Only one hand remained on the clock face. Its twelve numbers had turned into various items Su Wu could bring into the simulation.

Option 0: Your body (costs 10 Origin Jade).

Option 1: Orpha head-mounted monocular infrared night-vision device.

Option 2: Mysterious copper-sheathed bone.

Option 3: Key to the main electrical panel of Building 6, Peaceful Garden.

Option 4: Remote control for the sound-activated hallway lights of Building 6, Peaceful Garden.

Su Wu selected the infrared night-vision device first, spending 1 Origin Jade.

Then his gaze lingered briefly on the description for Option 2: This is an unusual bone. Under the right circumstances, it may undergo an unexpected change.

Option 2 was the Gang Cave Su Wu had bought online.

After reading the simulator's description, he felt that this Gang Cave might really spring a welcome surprise on him at a crucial moment. So he spent his last Origin Jade on it, bringing his wallet balance straight down to zero.

Su Wu did not select the remaining options, 3 and 4.

It was not that these two items were less important, but that he had no Origin Jade left.

He could only hope for a higher rating this time, so he could earn more Origin Jade and select more items.

Besides, since the simulator simulated his future, the changes he had already made in the present ought to cause some changes in that future too.

These things he had specially prepared should be in his room in the future.

"Loading talents..."

"Loading simulation..."

Unlike the previous two attempts, two screens appeared before Su Wu this time.

On one screen, he was sitting at his desk, wearing the infrared night-vision device and holding the Gang Cave bone flute in his left hand.

The other screen was completely black.

Su Wu's gaze passed over the first and settled directly on the second, pitch-black screen.

An electronic prompt soon sounded by his ear: "You have obtained 'Relic-Mysterious Copper-Sheathed Bone.' You may spend 500 Origin Jade to unlock the past life of the relic's original owner. Would you like to unlock it?"

"Your wallet balance is 0. Unlocking denied."

The simulator could simulate not only Su Wu's life, but other people's lives as well.

He simply had not expected that simulating someone else's life would require him to obtain a relic of theirs first, then spend a certain amount of currency to unlock the simulation.

The owner of this bone must have led an extraordinary life...

It actually costs 500 Origin Jade to simulate his life.

As Su Wu's thoughts raced, he suddenly realized something-the seller had clearly said this Gang Cave was a handicraft made from yak bone. Did that mean that if he really spent 500 Origin Jade, he might end up simulating a yak's past?

Or... was this bone not actually taken from a yak...?

He sucked in a sharp breath.

He stopped that train of thought.

If he kept thinking like this, his own hesitation and fear might make him abandon this simulation halfway through.

He focused his gaze on the first screen, and his consciousness was instantly drawn into it.

The electronic voice suddenly rang out: "Your future life has loaded successfully!"

The enormous clock face shattered in an instant. Su Wu reached out in the darkness and felt the desk in front of him.

He withdrew his hand and felt around for a switch on the night-vision device on his head. With a light press, his left eye, fitted with the device, saw the room in black and white.

This was a high-definition night-vision device. Although the image was black and white, it was exceptionally clear.

He could make out both the grain of the desktop and the mold spots on the walls.

Su Wu breathed a sigh of relief and scanned the room, but found neither the electrical panel key nor the remote for the sound-activated hallway lights. His heart sank slightly. Holding the Gang Cave in one hand, he picked up the notebook and phone from the desk with the other and stuffed them straight into his pockets.

He turned the door handle.

With a creak, the door opened, revealing the clean, simply furnished living room outside.

The window that let daylight into the living room was likewise blocked by an enormous mattress. Not a trace of light came through.

He glanced at the coffee table. On it lay something very familiar to him-the infrared night-vision device he was currently wearing!

Did I put this on the coffee table in the future?

If the night-vision device is here in my future apartment, there's no reason the other two things should be missing!

Su Wu quickly searched the living room with his eyes. Soon, he spotted a set of keys and a remote smaller than his palm on the simple shoe rack near the front door!

He hurried over and pocketed both items, secretly relieved that his guess had been right.

He had found counterparts for all three items in the simulation.

Only the Gang Cave was nowhere to be seen.

Making a mental note of that detail, Su Wu turned the front door handle, pushed the door open a crack, and leaned close to peer outside.

The eye without the night-vision device saw nothing but pitch-black darkness.

In the dark, the Shadow Wraith would not appear.

Holding the remote, Su Wu reached outside and pressed the "Lights off" button, pointing it into the darkness.

Now, even if he stepped outside and made noise with his footsteps, the sound-activated lights would not come on.

Creak!

The sound of the opening door was especially eerie in the darkness.

Even Su Wu broke into a cold sweat. Through the night-vision device, he saw the apartment number on the opposite door and the mold spreading down from the upper hallway wall. Without further hesitation, he strode toward the stairwell and turned to descend.

Tap, tap, tap!

Despite his deliberate efforts to control them, his footsteps still carried far through the empty stairwell.

As he approached the turn in the stairs leading to the next floor, his footsteps triggered the sound-activated light below, and it abruptly lit up!

The white light cast shadows of the railing and the corner of the wall onto the floor.

A faint stench of rotting flesh suddenly drifted into Su Wu's nose. The sensation nearly made his hair stand on end, yet his mind kept working-

Reacting swiftly, he reached out and pressed the remote's "Lights off" button!

Click!

The light went out!

The floor was shrouded in darkness once more!

The faint dead-rat smell did not grow any stronger.

But neither did it fade. It lingered in Su Wu's nostrils.

If I restore complete darkness before that dead-rat smell grows stronger, the Shadow Wraith won't come out to kill!

Su Wu had reached a conclusion.

But the time it took for that foul smell to grow from faint to strong was not fixed.

Sometimes it might take five minutes or even longer; other times, only the blink of an eye.

He had been lucky enough to switch off the hallway light this time. What about next time?

Shaking the stray thoughts from his mind, Su Wu grew even more cautious. He took every step extremely slowly, trying not to make the slightest sound.

Peaceful Garden was an old apartment complex. Its buildings were not tall, with only eight floors, and Su Wu lived on the fourth.

Going from the fourth floor to the third, he had been only a little slower than usual.

But going from the third floor to the second took him a full ten minutes!

And descending just one floor had drained a great deal of his strength, leaving him drenched in sweat.

Climbing stairs had always been tiring, while going down them was much easier.

Yet never before had descending stairs left Su Wu feeling as though his body were being hollowed out.

Su Wu paused at the turn in the stairs to recover some strength before continuing toward the first floor.

As he neared the first floor, he heard a rustling sound coming from behind the apartment door on the left.

Is someone in there? What are they trying to do?

Su Wu frowned.