I Have a God Simulator

Niao Feijue became a Messenger Bird, just as it had wished.

It wasn’t because it had performed some great deed. Rather, the Four-Direction Kingdom was undergoing a massive restructuring project, and the King needed more birds to serve as his Messengers and listen to the voice of his heart.

Niao Feijue discovered that it had underestimated how difficult the job was.

Messenger Birds had to fly nonstop, shuttling between the King in the city center and other powerful figures, even if it was just to deliver a meaningless greeting or a casual remark.

His Majesty the King’s inner voice wasn’t what it had imagined.

As a Messenger Bird, Niao Feijue could stand on the King’s shoulder and listen to the voice within his heart.

A powerful voice emanated from the King’s broad chest. It traveled up his rock skin to his shoulder, transforming into a stirring, resonant command: “Go to the northern farms. I want to know the sweet potato and taro harvest.”

Upon receiving the order, the Messenger Bird took flight, heading north to observe the local situation. It would get the information from the local Commander, then fly back to report.

“Go south. I want to know the number of chickens in the enclosures.”

The Messenger Bird would take flight once again, repeating the process.

Aside from the few moments of intense focus, the King’s thoughts tended to wander most of the time.

‘What am I doing? Who am I? Why am I here?’

‘Would it be more effective if I thought in a different posture?’

‘…The Four-Direction Kingdom. Why is this place called the Four-Direction Kingdom?’

At such times, the Messenger Birds would tell this monarch in unison.

“You bestowed this place its name. You are the one who named it the Four-Direction Kingdom.”

“Me? Oh.”

The King’s memory had never been very good.

“Where is the Bone King?”

The Messenger Birds would vie to answer, “The Bone King has left the Four-Direction Kingdom to wage war in the depths of the Abyss.”

“Why?”

“Because Lord Bone King reveres death, and this is a land of the living.”

“And where is the Wing King?”

“Lord Wing King has also gone to the Fifth Layer. He loves Hunting and can’t stay idle.”

“Oh…”

After joining the flock of Messenger Birds, Niao Feijue learned many secrets.

Legend had it that in the past, the Abyss Fourth Layer had three rulers: the Rock King, the Bone King, and the Wing King.

The era of the three kings standing together was also when the Four-Direction Kingdom developed the fastest.

The initial construction and development of the Four-Direction Kingdom were also accomplished under the hands of the three kings.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. Soon, the Bone King and the Wing King took a large contingent of their forces and left for the depths of the Fifth Layer.

In their own words:

“Instead of seeking a breakthrough in the depths of the Abyss, we’re supposed to hole up here and be a petty local king? That’s hilarious.”

Unlike the Rock King, the Bone King and the Wing King built the Four-Direction Kingdom for the purpose of recruiting soldiers, to gather enough troops to form an army and contend for supremacy in the Fifth Layer.

They left and never returned.

The residents of the Four-Direction Kingdom loved the Rock King. Because the Rock King was different. He didn’t mind being the king of a small kingdom, guarding this not-so-vast land, day after day, year after year.

The other Messenger Birds spoke of it in a veiled and restrained manner, but Niao Feijue still managed to piece together the truth of what had happened.

The Bone King and the Wing King disdained the Rock King’s slowness and weakness. They saw him as a burden and had no intention of bringing him along. Without so much as a word, they left with their elite forces.

To the residents here, even a foolish and forgetful king who simply maintained the status quo was far better than an ambitious, radical leader who waged war everywhere.

Niao Feijue’s mind worked quickly. Soon, it had a shocking Insight: the King was living in a fake Four-Direction Kingdom.

The taro and sweet potato harvest numbers were fake.

The number of chickens in the coops was also fake.

That the Fish Ponds were teeming with fish and frogs was also a lie.

That everyone was living well was, likewise, a lie.

…

Everything the King heard and saw was a stage set, fabricated and constructed by the Generals and Commanders.

Niao Feijue had gone to see the farmlands for itself. Large swathes of fields were deserted.

It wasn’t that the Farmers were unwilling to farm. If the harvest didn’t meet the quota set by the Commanders, the Farmers would be whipped and forced to make up for the shortfall. They couldn’t even feed themselves, so it was better not to farm at all.

The chickens in the coops were often stolen by soldiers, cooks, and even the chicken keepers themselves. Since it was everyone’s problem, no one—not the supervising Commander, not the keepers—wanted to raise a fuss. It would only bring punishment down on their own heads.

The fish in the Fish Ponds had a hard time growing up. For one, people would secretly catch them. For another, the fish easily got sick and died, and the Four-Direction Kingdom had no Physician who specialized in treating fish.

The frogs, on the other hand, were doing fine. But they lived in the toxic Fish Ponds, their bodies covered in poison sacs. There was very little edible meat on them, and eating them could easily cause an upset stomach.

Everyone frequently made secret deals with each other, turning a blind eye to the corruption. The entire Four-Direction Kingdom was rotting from the inside out.

This was the reality.

But no one would tell the King any of this. Revealing even a single issue would lead to severe punishment for a large group of people involved. That meant making an enemy of everyone.

What the Messenger Birds had to do was take the exaggerated descriptions from the various Commanders and embellish them further, making them sound like facts.

‘If the entire city is a lie, then at least make the lie a bit more pleasant.’

“We’re just a bunch of Messenger Birds.”

“We can’t change anything.”

This was the consensus of the entire flock.

Niao Feijue realized this had become a catch-22.

Every person in the know was culpable. To tell the truth meant harming oneself and offending a large group of interested parties.

A smart person knew what to do.

Day by day, Niao Feijue drifted between the suffocating, fractured worlds of lies and reality, feeling increasingly distressed.

It had no one to confide in, so it swallowed its pride and sought out its good brother, Niu Sanxi.

When the Sinful Corps had appeared before, Niao Feijue had claimed it was going to deliver a message. In reality, it was scared to death and had used it as an excuse to abandon its comrade and flee for its life.

Ever since, it had been avoiding Niu Sanxi.

When Niao Feijue heard that Niu Sanxi had been handpicked by General Hai to join the Sinful Corps, it mostly mourned for its old friend. Compared to patrolling the Eastern Route, being thrown in with that group of ghoulish soldiers… it wondered if Niu Sanxi would even survive.

Not long after, two Demigods attacked the Four-Direction Kingdom. In that battle, Niu Sanxi, operating a strange device, actually participated in the entire God-slaying fight.

Niao Feijue watched the great battle from afar, its heart surging with a mixture of jealousy and astonishment.

Among those well-trained, ferocious Corpse Demon Soldiers, Niu Sanxi hadn’t fallen behind at all.

‘That guy… he’s a natural-born warrior!’

Seeing Niu Sanxi again, Niao Feijue was a bit embarrassed. “Seeing that you’re doing well… I can rest easy…”

Niu Sanxi looked a size bigger and stronger. Gone was his previous scrawniness and hunger; he seemed full of vigor.

He held no grudge about the past. Instead, he enthusiastically told Niao Feijue about all the perks of the corps: the food was amazing, everyone was tough as nails, and they could even take down Demigods… He suggested Niao Feijue apply to join the corps too.

“No thanks, I couldn’t get used to an army like that.”

After listening to Niao Feijue pour out its troubles, Niu Sanxi was stunned. “What? The Four-Direction Kingdom is on the verge of collapse?! How could this be?”

A professional habit. Niao Feijue was used to exaggerating the situation.

It had gone from “rotting from the inside out” straight to “imminent collapse.”

“How would I know? The root of it probably goes back to the era of the three kings… Back then, the Bone King and the Wing King were already fond of hiding things from His Majesty the King.”

Niao Feijue finally felt a sense of relief. It flapped its wings and let out a long sigh. “The fact that you were able to join the Sinful Corps… it actually seems like a good thing now.”

Niu Sanxi said suddenly, “Isn’t the corps allied with the Four-Direction Kingdom now? You could tell General Hai about this and ask him to help the King fix the kingdom!”

“…”

‘Things couldn’t get any worse than they are now,’ Niao Feijue thought. ‘If the corps wants to take over the city, it’s going to happen sooner or later anyway. At least this gang of ferocious soldiers can force some changes.’

“Fine. But don’t say I’m the one who told you. Just say you found out yourself.”

“That’s impossible.”

Niu Sanxi scratched his head. “Everyone knows we’re close, and now you’re a Messenger Bird. How would that work? They’d know right away that it came from you.”

‘This guy’s gotten smarter.’

Niao Feijue steeled its resolve. “Take me to see General Hai!”

‘A Messenger Bird can’t really do anything major.’

‘But when it comes to embellishing the truth… we’re professionals.’

…

Niao Feijue hadn’t expected that soon after its conversation with General Hai, the Four-Direction Kingdom would undergo a series of dramatic changes.

First, General Hai and the King reached a consensus on reforming the Four-Direction Kingdom.

Administrators from the Yao Race arrived one by one. They established a city council, allowing people from different Races to voice their opinions and make suggestions, and abolished the old system of military governance over the city.

A large number of redundant soldiers were dismissed, more than ten Commanders were severely punished and stripped of their posts, and two Generals, General Yuann and General Shi, were demoted to Commanders.

Under the guidance of veteran Farmers, herdsmen, and Engineers provided by the Yao Race, the amount of arable land in the Four-Direction Kingdom increased significantly, with potatoes, soybeans, and wheat being newly introduced to the soil.

The newly arrived Ghost Physician treated the city’s residents for all sorts of illnesses and taught them how to use medicine and basic first-aid techniques.

They even installed devices called Celestial Lanterns in the sky to illuminate the entire city, replacing the perennially exhausted Mad Flame Birds.

The city was undergoing earth-shattering changes. The old, rotten rules were visibly crumbling, and a new Order was being established. It was a war fought without the flash of blades.

At this moment, a weary Niao Feijue perched on the King’s shoulder, gazing eastward.

The Fire Steam Cannon Carriages there were thundering.

‘Niu Sanxi must still be training hard.’

Suddenly, the King’s inner voice came through: ‘Was my governance of the city really that bad in the past?’

Niao Feijue replied, “Yes, it was very bad, Your Majesty.”

“…No wonder the population has always been so small.”

The pensive King rubbed his forehead with a large hand. “The residents must all detest me, right?”

“Although your level of governance is low, you’re easily fooled, your mind is not known for its brilliance, and your planning and management are chaotic… everyone supports you, Your Majesty the King.”

The King clutched his head with both hands. “Stop, stop… Can’t you just praise me a little more, like you used to?”

“Your Majesty, praise only makes one lost and arrogant. Recognizing an imperfect reality is what allows one to become a great and wise Monarch. Telling you the truth is the loyalty and mission of a Messenger Bird.”

Niao Feijue’s words were cold.

“…Then you’d better just scold me some more.” The King slapped his stone forehead hard with both hands, his voice frustrated and dejected.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”