I Have a God Simulator

The Garlic Tribe was very cautious in their exploration of Mingyue Island.

They knew salt could subdue the Mad Traveler Rats, but they still didn’t venture deep into the island. The little people circled the perimeter, slowly and carefully mapping the outermost ring of the island.

Yulian, who had always advocated for aggressive exploration, repeatedly gave instructions from the galley.

"Safety first."

"Don’t be reckless."

"The rats could chew on the ships at any time. Everyone must remain vigilant."

...

Luh Yao decided to give the little people a hand this time.

He had Isabel dispatch four Striped Lynxes from the Western Continent. This was also the first time Luh Yao had deployed Forest Elemental Creatures.

Before taking action, Luh Yao also asked for Isabel’s opinion.

’Can the lynxes handle the Mad Traveler Rats?’

"My Lord, the Striped Lynxes can’t eat this many rats. However, they are natural-born hunters and killers, so dealing with rats is very easy for them. They will be a great help in clearing out the rat swarms on the island on a large scale."

And so, the Striped Lynxes, a special forces team for rat extermination, were sent to Mingyue Island on the galleys.

The moment the four fluffy felines landed on the island, the hunt began.

Luh Yao looked down upon the island.

On the screen, four large yellow cats ran back and forth, dispatching the Mad Traveler Rats with a single swipe of a paw or a single bite. Wherever the lynxes went, the ground was littered with rat corpses.

This Hunting had no combat screen.

Only then did Luh Yao confirm that the Mad Traveler Rats were indeed ordinary animals, just a species that had been mutated by a Magic Potion. That was why no level display appeared.

The LV10 Striped Lynxes possessed the abilities [Stealth], [Bleeding], and [Quick Strike]. Their encounter with the rat swarms here was a one-sided, higher-dimensional beatdown.

The Mad Traveler Rats were strong when facing the timid Mingyue Tribe, but against true monsters, they were utterly helpless.

The rat swarms were slaughtered until their bodies covered the plains. The survivors finally fled into the sea and the mountains.

The lynxes’ pursuit continued.

However, their initial mission was complete. A large area on the island had been cleared out, enough for the little people to land safely.

Isabel made her way to the Central District of the island. This place was just as desolate, with no vegetation in sight, only rocks and dirt everywhere.

In the central region, there was a conspicuous flat-topped mountain, Pingding Mountain, upon which stood some sort of dilapidated ruin. Next to the ruin was a crooked stone monument.

Luh Yao clicked on the ruin.

The screen displayed: [This is a ruin.]

Luh Yao mused, ’This is probably the site of the Divine Statue.’

He had Isabel explore the ruins to see if she could find anything.

Before long, Isabel really did make a discovery.

"My Lord, I’ve found [All-Purpose Stone]."

Four sparkling stones flew into the top-left corner of the screen.

At the same time, a new item, [All-Purpose Stone], appeared in the game interface, and its display bar automatically collapsed. Luh Yao had to click on it to see the details.

...

[All-Purpose Stone]: A basic material for Forging artifacts, a rare mineral.

When heated with the Fire of Faith, there is a certain probability of forging an artifact. Continuing to refine with All-Purpose Stone has a certain probability of strengthening the artifact and increasing its Tier. The higher an artifact’s Tier, the harder it is to strengthen with All-Purpose Stone.

...

It then dawned on Luh Yao.

The Divine Player Bright God’s [Broken Magic Potion Crucible] must have been forged from [All-Purpose Stone].

No wonder the Crucible felt a whole lot weaker than other artifacts. It was a flawed item forged by a novice.

’Wait a minute.’

’There are four [All-Purpose Stone]s here. Where did they come from? The player has been dead for so long. Is this loot dropped by the Divine Statue?’

’Or does this place naturally produce All-Purpose Stone?’

Luh Yao’s eyes were glued to the screen, his gaze fixed on the area around the Divine Hall.

His fingers entered piano mode.

’Dig around here. See if there’s any more All-Purpose Stone.’

’Get everyone else to dig too!’

...

Luh Yao watched the island closely, waiting for feedback from the little people.

Within a few minutes, Isabel and her team had excavated a huge pit beneath the ruins of the Divine Hall.

The top of the pit was covered by many large rocks, but underneath, a passage leading underground had already been carved out. The inside of the passage sparkled with light. There were also some desiccated rat corpses inside.

Isabel entered the mine pit alone and found several more [All-Purpose Stone]s inside, though she wasn’t sure what lay at the very bottom.

Luh Yao took a sip of cool water and organized his thoughts.

The area around the Divine Hall was an All-Purpose Stone Mining Area. The Bright God had been sitting on a treasure trove that would make countless other players envious.

So, the Bright God had been secretly trying to create artifacts. He used Faith as fuel to create artifact embryos, then smelted them bit by bit to obtain finished artifacts.

After calming down a bit, Luh Yao put himself in the Bright God’s shoes to better understand the reasoning behind his actions.

A Divine Player’s power comes from population and Faith.

The population cannot be increased rapidly in a short amount of time; it usually requires long-term development.

To achieve explosive growth, one must either annex other human groups or experience a baby boom. But the human population base in the tribal era was small to begin with, so even with annexations or a baby boom, the increase in numbers would be very limited.

In comparison, acquiring Faith was more straightforward.

Compared to the slow increase in Faith from population growth, the fixed income from artifacts was plain to see.

Take Luh Yao himself as an example.

Including the [Ghost White Horse], he now held 8 artifacts, bringing in 264 Faith every day.

This was so much faster than gaining Faith by nurturing tribal little people.

Since he controlled the All-Purpose Stone Mine, the Bright God’s focus was naturally on Mining. The sooner he could create a finished artifact, the more substantial his future accumulation of Faith would be.

As for his Believers, the little people, he basically just left them to fend for themselves as long as they didn’t starve to death.

But the Bright God probably never imagined that the Mingyue Tribe couldn’t even handle the [Beggar Grass Monster]. This forced him to personally intervene, launching Miracle attacks and using his Crucible to create Magic Potions.

He created the Mad Traveler Rats to counter the Beggar Grass Monster, but this also triggered a subsequent chain reaction.

One misstep led to another. The Mad Traveler Rats meant to eliminate the Beggar Grass Monster turned into a much larger and more difficult disaster, one that the frail Mingyue Tribe was completely unable to withstand. By the time the Bright God realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The snowball effect hanging over Mingyue Island grew larger and larger. Without specific countermeasures, it was now impossible to stop.

Luh Yao said silently to himself.

’Rest easy. I’ve already avenged you. It is our solemn duty to restore the glory of the Divine Players.’

A moment later, Luh Yao shifted his attention to the stone monument.

The monument itself offered no clues.

But on the ground beneath it, there were some faint markings that seemed to follow a specific pattern.

Luh Yao took a closer look and discovered that the cracks on the ground formed a few crooked words: F--K YOU F--KING RATS!

He inwardly agreed.

’Well said.’

However, while the rats did indeed deserve to die...

’And while your luck wasn’t the best...’

’...you, my friend, are a true disgrace to all players, pathetic enough to get your account wiped by a bunch of rats.’

...

Luh Yao shifted his mood and began to tinker with the [All-Purpose Stone].

An open-world game can’t be missing crafting and enchanting, just as the West cannot be without Jerusalem. It’s something you simply have to experience.