I Have a God Simulator

"Today, I’m treating you all to hot pot," Luh Yao announced to his two Apostles.

Everything had been going smoothly lately.

Isabel had captured the Wish Spirit Baroye, which allowed her to probe the secrets of the intersection with the Spirit Realm and ultimately find the High Furnace World.

She’d also earned a commission of 3,000 for Luh Yao.

It was clean money, so he could accept it and spend it without any worries.

Necied, for his part, had charged headfirst into the completely unknown High Furnace World. He fought bloody battles there for seven years, bringing back the Fire Box and the Dwarf Fortress. Those years of high-intensity, life-or-death combat had also pushed the Blood Knight’s Combat Power to a new peak.

These were all cause for celebration.

And with so much good news, a celebration was definitely in order.

So, Luh Yao made a special trip to the market and bought hot pot soup base, thinly sliced beef, tripe, meatballs, shrimp dumplings, tofu, and other ingredients.

He left the rest to Xiaohuo.

Forty minutes later, a steaming pot filled with all sorts of delicacies was ready.

Luh Yao moved the table from the living room into his bedroom, barely managing to squeeze it between a cabinet and his bed.

And so, Luh Yao, Isabel, and Necied sat down.

"You’ve all been working hard," Luh Yao said, raising his chopsticks. "Eat up."

Isabel said, "Yes, my lord."

She took off her sunglasses and, fork in hand, prepared to spear some food from the pot—she wasn’t very good with chopsticks yet.

The next thing he knew, her green eyeballs had popped out of their sockets. One rolled across the table and stopped in front of Luh Yao, while the other fell to the floor.

Luh Yao, who was already used to this sort of thing, picked up the eyeball, huffed a breath of warm air on it, wiped it clean with a tissue, and handed it back.

"My deepest apologies, my lord. My eyes are still a bit unstable."

Isabel popped the eyeballs back into their sockets. To keep them in place, she used clear tape to secure them with a cross pattern, making sure they wouldn’t fall out again.

Luh Yao then turned to the Blood Knight, who was sitting motionless in his chair. He gestured with his chopsticks. "You eat, too."

"As you command," Necied said in a steady voice.

He grabbed a nearby fork, speared a sausage, and brought it to his helmet. Lifting his visor revealed nothing but pitch darkness. He tossed the sausage inside the armor, and it made a series of clattering and bouncing sounds.

Luh Yao had no idea if the Blood Knight could actually digest food tossed into his armor like that.

But it didn’t matter. It was the thought that counted.

Luh Yao swallowed a slice of beef and asked Isabel, "Did the intersection zone weaken you at all?"

He had been so focused on what was happening inside the intersection at the time that he hadn’t noticed its effect on his Apostles.

"No, my lord."

Isabel twirled a bundle of instant noodles onto her fork and ate slowly.

Just as she’d told Songx Shiyi, she was quite fond of modern instant foods.

Luh Yao nodded.

’So,’ he thought, ’the intersection zone formed by the worlds overlapping must share properties of both, acting as a kind of compatibility zone.’

’Only when an outsider truly enters a world do its Rules start to affect them.’

’That seems to be how it works, at least for now.’

This just highlighted how difficult it must have been for the Blood Knight to brave the High Furnace World alone, especially with his power weakened by its Rules.

Luh Yao wanted to ask Necied for more details about the High Furnace World.

It was a miniature Broken World, the likes of which he’d never encountered, and he was naturally curious.

But the Blood Knight just kept repeating himself, only talking about the enemies he’d faced: Fire Elemental Creatures with various abilities, Emperor Giant Elephants, Cloud Giants, the Dwarf Fortress...

In his eyes, the world was all about combat.

The Blood Knight automatically tuned out everything else, paying it no mind whatsoever.

Luh Yao felt a little helpless.

The Blood Knight was incredibly focused and sharp when it came to fighting, but in every other respect... it was a different story.

Luh Yao glanced at his phone.

A countdown he’d set on it was perfectly synchronized with the simulator.

[Update Countdown: 00:29:53]

Only half an hour left until the new Era of the Pixel World began.

After a satisfying meal, Luh Yao went downstairs for a short walk, then headed back up, keeping an eye on the time.

The room had been tidied up spotless, and even the smell of hot pot was gone.

Isabel was putting on fresh sheets and tidying the comforter.

Necied, meanwhile, was using his strength to crush various space-hogging cardboard boxes, plastic containers, and delivery packages into neat bricks, stacking them tidily in a trash bag by the door.

Everyone was very proactive.

Luh Yao sat down at his computer and eagerly launched the simulator.

’Time for the God to make his entrance!’

...

A line of text appeared on the screen.

[Era Update complete.]

[The Rule Power has further repaired and perfected this world.]

[The Dark Sun has cast its shadow upon this world. It will change countless lives and plunge the world back into chaos and disorder.]

[The Dark Sun Dragon has descended. Born of the Dark Sun, this invader’s mission is to conquer the entire world.]

[Giant Monsters roar amidst the ice and snow. The Land of Extreme Cold is their inviolable territory.]

[Elves whisper to the trees. Within the Symbiotic Forest, they continuously summon their kin and perform ancient rituals.]

[Humans from different regions have gathered together to face the Dark Sun, increasing the number of human settlements.]

[Under the rays of the Dark Sun, the number of monsters has increased significantly.]

[The new Era has officially begun. The flow of time has been adjusted. This will be your chance to ascend the Stairway to Divinity.]

...

’So that last sentence finally reveals their true intentions, huh?’

Luh Yao stroked his chin.

’The simulator has always been trying to push players toward the Divine Hall of the Gods,’ he mused. ’First, it was discounted Faith costs for wonders, then practically giving things away, and now it’s straight-up mentioning the Stairway to Divinity.’

Luh Yao pretended not to notice and turned his attention back to the Pixel World itself.

This was a major world update.

’Dark Sun, Dragons, Giant Monsters, Elves... a lot of new elements.’

Melodious 8-bit music began to play from the speakers as the computer screen finally filled with color, revealing the familiar Pixel World once more.

He first looked at Yao City.

It was the center of his Faith’s culture, and more importantly, Selena was stationed there.

When it came to chaos, the Tyrant had the final say.

After clicking on the Divine Hall, Luh Yao saw that Selena was completely unchanged. She stood before the Divine Statue, maintaining the exact same pose she’d had right before he was kicked out of the game.

’Did time pause during the world update?’

Luh Yao typed a message above her head.

—What is the situation?

An exclamation point flashed above Selena’s head.

She immediately dropped to one knee. "Lord Yao God, I welcome your return."

Then, she reported, "In the thirty years that have passed, the Fire of Faith has not been affected in any way. There have only been some minor conflicts among the mortals."

"Yao City is operating smoothly, and the situation in Saniluo is good. The main problems are in Yan City."

Luh Yao did some quick math.

’The update took 72 hours, which was exactly 30 years in-game. So one day in the real world really does equal ten years in the Pixel World.’

He glanced at the top-right corner of the screen.

Population: 56,508

Faith: 42,826

’Whoa.’

’In the thirty years the world was updating, the population nearly doubled to over 50,000, and my Faith reserves had swelled accordingly.’

So much good news all at once felt a little unreal.

Selena reported, "After the Dark Sun’s arrival, both humans and animals can transform into monsters under its rays."

"These transformed monsters are growing in number and have had some impact on our cities. The Divine Hall Council in Yao City, Commander Salt Geller in Yan City, and Commander Alex in Saniluo are all conducting regular purges of the surrounding areas."

"The increased number of monsters in the wild has led to more casualties among hunters and explorers."

"However, the source of all these problems is the second sun, the Dark Sun."

Selena added that the one who best understood the effects of the Dark Sun was Philos.

"Ever since you temporarily departed, Philos has been deeply concerned about the Dark Sun and the mortals. He has traveled all over, spending years observing and documenting it."

"I have also placed mirrors in many parts of the world and have done some reconnaissance on the two New Continents, but my findings aren’t as detailed as his."

Selena concluded, "He is a most diligent Apostle. If you summon him, I am certain you will receive much more detailed and thorough intelligence."

Luh Yao was a bit surprised.

’Philos, once a relatively marginal figure among the Apostles, has now become the main scout for the new Era.’

Luh Yao clicked on the Skeleton Man’s avatar.

The screen shifted to a beach on the southwestern coast of the Western Continent.

Philos was controlling the Skeleton King Armor, using it to block a dense swarm of Cannibal Crabs. Behind its massive, bony frame, a group of tiny figures were fleeing for their lives.

Luh Yao immediately sent the Blood Knight into the Pixel World.

The Blood Knight, mounted on a white horse, galloped in as reinforcements from Saniluo.

As soon as Philos saw the Blood Knight, an exclamation point popped up over his head. "Mr. Necied!"

"Lord God!"

The Skeleton Man immediately extracted himself from the Skeleton Creature, knelt on one knee, and bowed toward the screen.

The monster horde behind them, which had been surging forward like a tsunami, was single-handedly broken by the Blood Knight, who left a trail of shattered shells and severed crab legs in his wake.

The crab swarm quickly realized this Knight was trouble. They immediately changed their direction of attack and scurried rapidly toward the sea...