I Have a God Simulator

The restaurant Song Shiyi found was located south of the city, near the central axis. The area was packed with parked taxis, and many drivers ate there.

The restaurant was called "Roadside Diner," with a faded, light-red sign and a noisy entrance. The prices, however, were reasonable.

Most of the diners were blue-collar workers who had been busy all day. After getting off work, they would come here to order a couple of small dishes, both to fill their stomachs and to take a short break.

Song Shiyi and Isabel sat in a corner. In front of them was a large plate of braised pork intestines, a serving of seaweed soup, and a plate of green vegetables.

"How is it?" Song Shiyi asked, looking at Isabel.

"It’s delicious."

Isabel replied after she finished chewing.

Song Shiyi seemed to let out a sigh of relief, her expression relaxing. "It’s a bit rich, but the seaweed soup and green vegetables help cut through the greasiness."

"I don’t know why, but I always feel that you and I are similar in some ways, Miss Mary..."

She seemed to have thought of something and dropped the subject.

Song Shiyi changed the topic. "Miss Mary, I was wondering, would your companion be interested in joining the Committee? Being a member of the Committee actually makes a lot of things more convenient. And the Committee isn’t just law enforcement; we also have administrative, internal affairs, and research positions with relatively stable schedules."

"The Committee is holding this province’s provincial exam in March. If you’re not against the idea, why not give it a try?"

Seeing that Isabel didn’t immediately refuse, Song Shiyi took a folded paper document from her bag. "This has all the relevant information. You can take a look."

At a remote signal from Luh Yao, Isabel took the paper and asked, "What happened to your Apostle, Mingzai?"

"It’s gone missing."

Song Shiyi said this, but her face showed no worry.

She wiped her lips with a napkin and said with a serious expression, "Here’s what happened."

"About half a month ago, the Committee gave me a mission to track down a target."

Isabel asked, "Forgive me for interrupting, but weren’t you dealing with Wasteland No. 7?"

"The overlap with Wasteland No. 7 ended long ago."

Song Shiyi explained, "The degree of overlap was very slight. It was just the Rule Power of the two worlds entangling and interacting, creating a temporary effect. If it had been a true partial border connection and wall-breaching, the reaction would have been far more severe."

"Where was I? Oh, right. The target is rather special. It has excellent concealment abilities, and... you know about the Tiger Man on the internet, right? You do use the internet, don’t you?"

Isabel nodded.

"That’s the one."

Song Shiyi’s expression turned grave, and she habitually pursed her lips. "Don’t be fooled by its appearance as a flat doodle. It comes from another High Realm Dimension called Dragon Residence."

Luh Yao, on the other end, thought to himself, ’So it really is related to Cancong.’

’Just as I expected, whenever an event related to the simulator occurs, the Committee takes action.’

’Hearing both sides reveals the truth.’ He prepared to hear the Committee’s perspective on the Longsu Zhucong.

"You know about the Nine-Grain Pillar, right?" Song Shiyi asked.

Isabel clumsily shoveled a mouthful of rice with her chopsticks and shook her head.

"That’s the Artifact Cancong is looking for. It’s the prototype for the Shang Bronze Divine Tree, a Grade-A cultural relic in the Sanxingdui Museum."

Song Shiyi picked up a piece of pork intestine. "The Nine-Grain Pillar is a Mythical Miracle, and also a special channel built between Dragon Residence and Earth. About 6,000 years ago, Dragons existed in this world. After the Nine-Grain Pillar disappeared, Dragons could no longer cross over from Dragon Residence."

"According to the relevant materials and records collected by the Committee, the Nine-Grain Pillar was destroyed by Dragon Residence."

Luh Yao’s heart skipped a beat.

’This is different from what Cancong said.’

Isabel just listened quietly.

"And the Tiger Man... its real name is Cancong, the same name as the first king of the Ancient Shu Kingdom. It’s a special life form that has existed in this world for a very long time, and it was also the Guardian of the Nine-Grain Pillar."

"For some reason, after the Nine-Grain Pillar disappeared, Cancong remained behind."

"It looks like a two-dimensional drawing, but that’s just its state after reducing its dimensions. This way, the changing Eras and the effects of Rule Power have less of an impact on it."

"Mingzai and I were tracking Cancong."

Luh Yao spoke through Isabel. "So the video on the internet... you posted it intentionally?"

"Yes."

Song Shiyi licked her lips. "Because not all players have contact or dealings with the Committee, we used this method hoping to get their attention and give them a heads-up."

"Unfortunately, Cancong’s counter-surveillance abilities are very strong. We didn’t get any effective feedback."

Luh Yao thought, ’[High-Level Disguise] really is a very practical skill.’

’I didn’t even notice when Cancong snuck into the house.’

"Mingzai has very sharp Insight. It discovered Cancong was active in the city and tracked it. To find Cancong’s other bodies, it copied Cancong and reduced its dimensions, entering the flat, planar world."

"And then, I lost contact with Mingzai."

Song Shiyi sighed. "I can feel that its Fire of Faith is still burning, but I just can’t pinpoint its exact location. It must be an effect of reducing its dimensions."

Isabel feigned surprise. "Other bodies? Cancong has many bodies?"

"Yes. It has split itself into many parts."

Song Shiyi put down her chopsticks. "Usually, it appears on various flat surfaces in the form of simple lines. This consumes the least energy and allows for the fastest movement. Unless a space is perfectly and completely sealed, it can go anywhere."

"Cancong’s complete form contains a great deal of memories and information. It has split that dense information out of its body, turning it into different shells. For example, it’s divided into [Figures], [Major Events], [Mission Orders]... like separate data files in different categories, each stored away."

"This way, even if it dies, the important information is preserved."

"After Cancong dies, its remaining backup bodies will activate. Through these shells, it can carry on its previous important intelligence and commands."

"If Cancong has a hidden, dangerous objective, it would pose a great threat to the current human Order on Earth. That’s why the Committee needs to monitor it closely to avoid any unforeseen risks."

Luh Yao combined what Cancong and Song Shiyi had said, forming a clearer understanding of Cancong.

It strips out its important memories, storing them like individual databases, and moves about in the simplest, most effortless form. Even if captured, it won’t leak any secrets.

After death, it can be reborn from another backup body, like a self-replicating android.

This series of abilities—being Undying and capable of self-division—its very existence is unsettling.

Luh Yao rolled up his sleeve and spoke to the strange doodle on his wrist. "I have a question."

A moment later, Cancong’s voice entered his mind.

"I did indeed have many bodies, each storing different memories. They were all under the Nine-Grain Pillar. But ever since that explosion on the Nine-Grain Pillar, all the bodies were destroyed along with Yu Fu and the others."

"If I could, I would want to remember those detailed past events. Then I might be able to find my way back to Dragon Residence."

The two sides had different stories.

Luh Yao didn’t have enough information to make a judgment.

The only thing he could be sure of was that Cancong was indeed at a dead end, and the Committee, which prized Order above all, would never allow it to roam freely in human society.

Back in the restaurant, Isabel said, "Where did Mingzai go missing?"

"About a hundred meters from here. That day, I was about to come here for a meal when Mingzai suddenly said it found something and went ahead to track it."

Song Shiyi took out her phone, about to scan the code to pay.

"I’ll get it. You paid last time."

This time, Isabel took out cash and paid at the counter.

After leaving the restaurant, Song Shiyi led Isabel across the street.

There was a community activity area equipped with a ping-pong table, an elliptical trainer, a waist-twisting machine, a large rotator wheel, and other exercise equipment. Some elderly people were strolling and exercising.

Song Shiyi said, "Mingzai chased the target this far, and then I couldn’t find it anymore."

Isabel looked left and right.

To the left of the activity area was a public restroom. To the right was a small path that led to a kindergarten further in.

Isabel checked the public restroom first, but found nothing.

Then she followed the path into the kindergarten.

The kindergarten walls were covered in colorful drawings. On one Wall, there was a drawing of a Sun, and in the middle of the Sun was a small sparrow.

Upon closer, continued observation, one could see that it was moving, but its actions were extremely Slow, as if it had been slowed down dozens of times, struggling as if it were drowning.

"Ah, Mingzai, so this is where you are!"

Song Shiyi exclaimed with slight exaggeration, "I told you not to run off! You had me so worried."

She reached behind her back, pulled out a white cloth, and wiped it gently against the Wall. With a shake of the fabric, the sparrow Mingzai flew out of it. The little bird landed on her shoulder, shivering.

"If it weren’t for you, I definitely wouldn’t have found Mingzai so quickly," Song Shiyi said, thanking her.

"Luck."

Isabel was concise. "I’ll be leaving now."

"Let’s meet again when you’re free."

"We’ll see."

Seeing the reluctant look in Song Shiyi’s eyes, Luh Yao was fairly certain that she had just used this as an excuse to ask Isabel out to dinner.

’Could it be that she saw Isabel’s high level and wants to poach my Apostle?’

Luh Yao grew wary.

He had also gained something from this. Not only did he learn more about Cancong’s origins, but he had also used [True Sight Curse] to inspect Mingzai’s stats panel.

...

[Apostle LV72] Xing Bird Mingzai

Life Value: 17777/17777

Mana Value: 4911/4911

Damage: 120

Defense: 81

Speed: 23

[Astrology]

Use the stars to divine good or bad fortune, with a certain probability of success.

[Fire Elemental Mystery LV22]

Can continuously recover Life Value while in fire. Attacks are imbued with Fire Element damage. Can store a large amount of Fire Element (72/22000).

[Heat Eating]

Has a craving for heat and can absorb it directly.

[Eye of Insight]

Can See Through much hidden information.

[Celestial Official of Fire LV5]

[Xing Bird Exclusive Ability] Transforms into the Celestial Official of Fire, manifesting a body of fire to absorb all surrounding Fire Element for its own use. The range and effectiveness of the absorption are related to the ability’s level.

...

’This sparrow is definitely something else.’

Luh Yao thought.

’In the future, when dealing with Song Shiyi, I’ll have to keep a close eye on this Xing Bird.’