I Have a God Simulator

Luh Yao opened a bag of plain potato chips, munching away as he checked on the situation at Elf Lake.

The simulator only presented a simplified version of the Fragment World. It didn't mean the pixel people were just two-dimensional Papermen. The Fragment World was an independent world with its own rules and ways of operating.

'I shouldn't underestimate the Wisdom of these pixel people.'

On the computer screen, Shang Mi was successfully selling jar after jar of honey. One day, he suddenly mounted a horse and rode all the way to the western side of the Southern New Continent. There, another little person was waiting for him.

It was none other than Hai Dan, the one who was always bragging in the tavern.

Hai Dan asked him, "How's it going? How's the honey business lately?"

A smiley face appeared over Shang Mi's head. "Business is booming! After this year, we can wash our hands of this and retire! We'll go to Yao City, buy a big house, a few more shops, and just live comfortably."

"Hahahaha!"

Smiley faces appeared over both their heads.

"Treasure chests are really something. Without them, we'd never have found this path to riches."

Luh Yao saw it all clearly.

After the two little people failed to pry open the treasure chest, they quickly changed their strategy.

One of them shouted and advertised to the public: "Treasure here! Come and get it! First come, first served!"

The other one sat nearby, making money off the Treasure Hunters: "Specially-made Madness Honey, selling cheap! The Elves' favorite. You have to win the Elves' favor to get the treasure chest in Elf Lake."

Whether the honey was actually useful or not, they were making a fortune either way.

Shang Mi said, "Recently, a Scholar and a Pharmacist both managed to get treasure chests."

"Their methods were different. The Scholar seemed to have communicated with the Elves and maybe reached some kind of agreement... so when he got the chest, those little green weirdos didn't stop him."

"The Pharmacist cured an Elf's illness."

A symbol of black lines, indicating confusion, appeared over Hai Dan's head. "Those guys are pretty resourceful."

"You just have to cater to what the Elves like."

Shang Mi continued, "The phantom thief is the real problem. We need to hurry. It'll be a pain if that guy sets his sights on our treasure."

An exclamation mark lit up over Hai Dan's head.

"You're right. That guy's never failed before. Good thing he's only interested in treasure chests."

After observing for a while, Luh Yao learned that a serial master thief had appeared at Elf Lake.

This master thief always came and went without a trace, and no one knew his identity.

As soon as someone managed to get a treasure chest, the phantom thief would target them and steal the treasure from inside.

But soon after, the stolen treasure would be returned, mysteriously reappearing in the victim's clothes or backpack.

His actions were baffling.

It seemed as if the master thief was just showing off his pilfering skills, or perhaps it was simply his habit and personality... which is why the local Adventurers called him the [Phantom Thief of Elf Lake].

Everyone despised the phantom thief, even though he never actually kept the treasure.

The phantom thief ruined the treasure-hunting experience for everyone, robbing them of the chance to open the chest themselves and see the shiny, mysterious prize inside with their own eyes.

That sacred, exciting feeling was completely destroyed by the phantom thief.

The phantom thief had stolen their joy of unboxing.

Luh Yao suddenly put the pieces together.

'Comes and goes without a trace, always succeeds in his heists, rummages through treasures...'

Luh Yao clicked on the Snowman's portrait.

The view immediately shifted to a nearby forest.

'It really is you!'

Just then, Snowman Jimmy was furtively tailing a pixel person.

The pixel person was a young girl, 15 years old, named [Lie Yu]. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and carried a travel pack on her back. She was an Adventurer.

The Snowman shadowed Lie Yu like a phantom. With a snatch of its red-gloved hand, it pulled something from her.

A question mark popped up over Jimmy's head.

'Another useless gem. God won't like this.'

An exclamation mark quickly lit up over Lie Yu's head. "My chest, my treasure chest! It's lighter!"

She unfastened the pack on her back and opened a wooden box inside.

The box was completely empty.

A crying emoji appeared over Lie Yu's head.

"Waaaaah... It's been stolen! Damn that phantom thief! Why are you so mean?! I worked so hard to make that Honey Wine to trade with the Elves for this treasure chest..."

The girl completely lost it, waving a small sickle in her hand.

"Come out! Come on out, you scoundrel!"

The Snowman simply reached out, patted her, and then vanished again.

Throughout the entire process, Lie Yu couldn't see Jimmy.

Then, a lightbulb lit up over her head.

Belatedly, Lie Yu felt around in her pocket and pulled out a glowing gemstone.

"It's an [Emerald]!"

"It's so beautiful!"

"That detestable phantom thief, not even letting me open my own chest! Next time, I'll definitely find a way to catch you!"

The young Adventurer put the gem away and hurried toward a galley at the seashore.

Luh Yao moved the mouse over the Snowman's head and typed.

—?

A huge smiley face appeared on the Snowman, and it knelt respectfully on the ground. "Lord God, your faithful Jimmy awaits your summons! Please, give me your command!"

Luh Yao had originally intended to scold him.

But on second thought, you couldn't ask too much of a mad Snowman.

'Jimmy is loyal enough and works hard enough. What more could I ask of him?'

Luh Yao composed himself and asked him why he was around Elf Lake.

"Lord God, Jimmy is here looking for treasure."

"There are treasure chests in Elf Lake, with all sorts of treasures inside."

The Snowman said, "Jimmy wants to offer treasure to you, Lord God!"

"Unfortunately, the chests are all just filled with ordinary gems and Gold. Even Pasha looks down on them."

"Before you open a chest, you don't know what treasure is inside, so Jimmy tests them one by one. As long as it's not a treasure needed by the Lord God, Jimmy returns it to them."

Only then did Luh Yao realize that the treasures the Dark Sun Dragon recognized weren't ordinary, either. They had to be special equipment with Attributes or Faith Artifacts.

The Snowman was opening chests here simply to see if he could find anything good.

Jimmy's way of thinking was different from a normal person's, but he was truly loyal, simple, and pure.

Luh Yao suddenly thought of a question.

'What about the Dragon?'

"Pasha is in the Dragon Nest."

Jimmy said, "The Dark Sun Power has made it sleepy recently, so it has no energy. Jimmy let it rest in the Dragon Nest."

'The Dark Sun Dragon is growing stronger?'

Luh Yao was delighted and quickly switched his view to the Dragon Nest on the Northern New Continent.

The Dark Sun-shrouded, snow-capped mountains were wreathed in black mist, creating the atmosphere of a villain's main base.

And there, the status [In Combat] was displayed above the young dragon Pasha's head.

Luh Yao quickly summoned Selena over, then switched to the combat screen.

Pasha currently had the [Weakness] status over its head. Its damage, defense, and movement speed were all reduced to half of normal, and its stat panel had dropped significantly.

Across from it was a group of three Dwarf Adventurers.

Luh Yao recognized the trio.

It was none other than the [High Furnace Wonders].

But on the combat screen, the situation between the two sides was a little... odd.

...

The Dwarves were in a standoff with Pasha.

"We, the [High Furnace Wonders], don't bully the young or the handicapped! Tell your parents to come out! Let's see them have a go at us!"

Gao Youzhuang, shouldering his hammer, had a rather heroic complex.

But Pasha couldn't understand what they were saying; its dialogue box just showed gibberish.

Seeing that the Dwarves were just talking and showed no intention of attacking, the young dragon, perhaps just too sleepy, let out a yawn, lay down on the ground, and a ZZZ symbol soon appeared over its head.

The High Furnace Wonders were momentarily struck speechless.

The Dwarf Weii Ermeng looked at the other two. "Looks like the big dragon isn't home... What's the plan now?"

The female Dwarf, Huoo Shaoyun, suggested, "How about this? We'll leave our mark here and come back next time. Look at that poor kid, it probably hasn't rested in a long time. Falling asleep during a fight, guarding the Dragon Nest all by itself... must be so tough."

Weii Ermeng agreed. "Yeah. Dwarves would never do that. The Dragon Race is terrible at looking after their young. The Dragon Nest is so crude, too. They look poor. It's nothing compared to a fortress."

The trio didn't forget to leave a parting threat before they retreated.

"Tell your parents we'll be back!"

Before leaving, they left a simple stone monument nearby. A furnace was carved on the monument—the mark of the [High Furnace Wonders].

Below it, written crookedly in both Dwarven and Yao Race script, was a message.

"Beware of Evil Dragon. Do Not Enter."