I Have a God Simulator

Luh Yao looked at the A4 paper in his hand.

This was the information Song Shiyi had given Isabel.

He was a little unsure now—was Song Shiyi using this as a chance to get closer to Isabel, or was she extending an olive branch to him, the one behind Isabel?

’Probably a bit of both.’

Just as he’d guessed, the Committee was indeed an official organization. Even the entrance exam was part of the provincial civil service system, classifying it as a government-affiliated position.

However, because it was managed as a special department, the content and focus of the exam were determined internally.

There were also application requirements.

First, applicants had to be a Divine Player of the Gods Tier, have at least an associate’s degree, and have no criminal record.

The exam content, in addition to the standard administrative aptitude test and essay, included a specialized exam on the theory and knowledge of the God Simulator.

Song Shiyi noted in the margins that the score requirement for the administrative test and essay wasn’t high, but applicants had to pass the specialized exam.

Just like with regular civil service recruitment, an entrance exam was mandatory for all applicants.

Additionally, there were a few special recruitment slots available. These required passing an interview and a practical test, were much more difficult, and demanded particularly outstanding personal abilities or an impressive track record.

Song Shiyi had also noted at the bottom: Those who were already Titled Deities could be admitted via a fast-track special recruitment process.

Luh Yao scratched his head as he read this.

’That very first requirement, being at the Gods Tier, already screens me out.’

The most helpful part of the document was a URL. Song Shiyi had said it led to the Committee’s actual specialized exam questions from the past three years.

After Luh Yao entered the URL, he was taken to a minimalist webpage, just as she’d said.

It contained only a series of questions—multiple choice, true/false, and analysis—and clicking an answer would reveal an explanation of whether it was correct or not.

The very first question made Luh Yao perk up.

1. Which of the following statements is false? ( )

A. The God Simulator is an information channel that uses computers as a medium.

B. The God Simulator is a World Dimension access terminal created by a higher civilization.

C. The God Simulator is a natural phenomenon.

Luh Yao thought for a moment and chose C.

It was marked incorrect.

The correct answer was B.

Explanation: The God Simulator is a periodic natural phenomenon, and related records have existed throughout human history. It was initially considered a special type of illusion, appearing in the human world in various forms, including dreams, hallucinations, murals, stone carvings, and so on.

But through continuous exploration and experimentation, human civilization discovered that it is a phenomenon that interacts with specific dimensions and natural laws. As civilization progressed, it has manifested through different mediums.

It is completely unaffected by subjective human factors, which fits the definition of a natural phenomenon. Answer C is a common distractor designed to be misleading.

Therefore, the God Simulator is still currently considered a natural phenomenon.

...

The Committee hadn’t cracked the God Simulator either; its origin remained a mystery.

Luh Yao continued working his way through the questions, one after another.

After finishing three practice tests, Luh Yao had learned a great deal of useful, fundamental information.

For example, when the population of a player’s world reaches a certain level, a "Star Ring" capable of holding various Simulator Artifacts appears behind them. Its official name is the [World Chain], a band that serves as a chain-like connection between the player and their connected Low Realm Dimensional World.

It expands as the player’s Divinity and Divine Body grow, and when it reaches its ultimate size, it becomes a Main God Space.

Another example: the Committee is the law enforcement agency that regulates Divine Players. Besides arresting players who break the law and disrupt Order, their work is more focused on theoretical research into the God Simulator and running applied research projects.

The test questions mentioned a public project where, in a certain Low Realm Dimensional World, they were simulating and making Inferences about various human responses to climate change. The results were to be used as a reference for preventative measures.

Other countries had similar secret or semi-secret organizations.

Furthermore, the punishments for law-breaking players were all made public on the Committee’s official website.

Minor offenses were usually punished with a few days of detention plus a fine.

Major criminal offenses resulted in imprisonment for anywhere from one year to several hundred years.

When he first saw a hundred-year sentence, Luh Yao found it odd. ’Isn’t that basically a life sentence?’

The explanation stated that there were two ways to get a sentence reduction for long-term imprisonment.

One was to perform a service of major merit.

The second was to become one of the Titled Deities and enter the Flying District. In this state, a player would merge with their Divine Kingdom in a special way, theoretically freeing them from the normal limitations of a human lifespan.

This was also considered a path to freedom.

Moreover, at the Gods Tier, players could achieve Synchronization with their Divine Kingdom. Specifically, the player’s physical body would fall into a coma-like state of Hibernation, allowing them to control their Divine Kingdom and Divine Body directly.

From this perspective, the imprisonment of Jia Xiaokai and the others wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; in fact, their physical safety was better guaranteed.

Once a player lost their status as a God, all their memories and traces related to the God Simulator would be erased. It was still unclear how this was accomplished.

Luh Yao also obtained an extremely important piece of information.

It was the method for logging into the provincial Committee’s official website.

The URL was ordinary, a basic .gov address, but you had to append the root directory of the God Simulator’s local files to the URL to make it load. Otherwise, it would just display a "page not found" error.

As long as the website could detect the presence of the God Simulator on the local machine, the Committee’s homepage would open.

Luh Yao looked at the information on the official website.

It was basically like a university website, mostly filled with news and announcements.

[XX Innovation Research Center Holds Year-End Academic and Work Exchange Conference]

[Supervising Department Sends Letter of Commendation to the Committee]

[Notice Regarding the New Year’s Day Holiday]

...

Just as Luh Yao was browsing the news, a sudden, searing heat flared up on his arm.

Cancong’s voice entered his mind.

Luh Yao chatted with it while continuing to scan the news.

It suddenly occurred to him that Cancong, being from the Dragon Residence, might know how to train the Dragon Race.

Pasha, his Juvenile Dragon, had been growing wild ever since Hatching. There were no major issues, but its Dragon Language Magic was, to put it mildly, a disaster.

Its Dragon Breath was fine, but that was a basic skill.

Pasha still hadn’t mastered the Dragon Descendant’s Blessing, and Dragon Language Spellcasting remained a huge struggle for it. Right up until the Era Update, the Snowman had been pushing the Juvenile Dragon to practice diligently.

Pasha preferred melee combat, using its Dragon Breath at most. It had little enthusiasm for Magic, and its progress with the Dragon Language was basically nil.

This had been a constant source of frustration for Luh Yao.

’Liking melee is fine, but wouldn’t its melee be even more powerful if it also mastered Dragon Language Magic?’

’It’s like cooking. You don’t have to do it, but you can’t be incapable of it.’

’Not knowing how will put you at a disadvantage at times.’

As soon as Cancong heard him mention the Dragon Race, it immediately perked up and said it would come over.

Less than two minutes later, it scrambled onto Luh Yao’s desktop.

"Mr. Pioneer, I’m here! HUFF... PUFF... The Dragon! Where is the Dragon?"

Luh Yao pointed at his computer. "In the God Simulator. Do you think my place is big enough to house a Dragon?"

"You have a point. I was too hasty."

Luh Yao noticed that the health bar above Cancong’s head indeed showed only 7 HP. Its body was also missing its lower half; only its arms and torso were intact. A new symbol had appeared on its forehead, one that looked like a seagull in flight, or a pair of connected eyebrows.

"What happened?"

"I ran into some trouble. I split my body to lead them away."

Cancong seemed completely unconcerned about it.

Luh Yao was filled with a sense of awe. ’Without legs, it really did crawl all the way here.’

There was still one day left before the Era Update was complete.

Luh Yao asked it, "My Dragon isn’t good with the Dragon Language. It’s more of the athletic, outdoorsy type. Can you teach it properly?"

"Rest assured. I will use the most traditional method from the Dragon Residence—the same method used by generations of Dragon Race Pioneers to bring about the Enlightenment and awakening of the next generation."

On the desktop, Cancong’s usually somewhat comical face turned serious and solemn.

"What method is that?"

"The [Dragon Blood Ceremony]."

’So there is a trick to it!’ Luh Yao thought.

He immediately explained Pasha’s origins and current situation.

"The Dark Sun Dragon is a very rare type of Dragon. We’ve never had one in the Dragon Residence because we don’t have a Dark Sun. But a Dragon is a Dragon; their fundamental traits are consistent."

Cancong didn’t hold anything back, explaining directly, "The most important medium for the Dragon Race is their blood. Generally speaking, the more Dragon Blood they have, the larger their draconic body, and the stronger the Dragon."

"The [Dragon Blood Ceremony] is a Secret Technique that promotes the proliferation of Dragon Blood and stimulates rapid growth of the draconic body. When combined with large quantities of high-quality food and certain special treasures, its effects can be greatly amplified."

"The ceremony requires placing the Dragon in an extremely dangerous environment, forcing it to constantly face the pressure of powerful enemies so that it is continuously injured and Bleeding, even to the point of near death. But that’s fine. The life force of the Dragon Race is incredibly vigorous..."

The so-called Dragon Blood Ceremony could be summed up in one sentence: beat it, beat it to within an inch of its life, make it Bleed, and beat it half to death.

When faced with death and pain, its desperate need for power will trigger the Dragon’s awakening...

Tough love, a Dragon Race tradition.

Luh Yao fell into deep thought.

’It seems I’ve been too gentle with Pasha in the past.’

...

On the side of a deserted street in the middle of the night, Song Shiyi stood with her hands in her jacket pockets, her gaze sweeping the area.

She stomped her feet lightly in the cold wind. "It’s a shame. We still couldn’t find Cancong."

Mingzai, perched on her shoulder, flapped its wings. "It split its body in half. The lower part ran off and led me into a trap, forcing me into a temporary state of Stagnation."

"It’s very wary of me and wants absolutely no contact..."

Mingzai lowered its head. "I failed."

"It’s okay."

Song Shiyi gently scratched the sparrow with her finger. "As long as you tried your best, that’s what matters."

"Miss Mary helped me look for it this time free of charge. I also mentioned the Committee’s public recruitment to her. It would be for the best if she’s interested."

She said softly, "On another note, that suspect working as a food runner at the ’Roadside Diner’ noticed he was under surveillance. He kept sizing up Mary and me when he brought our food. Good thing the Execution Bureau acted quickly. The arrest was a success."

"I still think there’s something wrong with that woman. I can see she’s shrouded in countless secrets I can’t make out," Mingzai mumbled in a low voice.

"Who doesn’t have secrets?"

Song Shiyi looked up at the moon. "If having secrets is a sin, then wouldn’t I be the most dangerous criminal of all? Strictly speaking, I’m this era’s Frankenstein, an artificial person pieced together from all sorts of expensive parts by the Committee."

"Speaking of which, Miss Mary and I really do have a fateful connection. After all, Frankenstein’s monster was created by Mary Shelley."

"But Master, you’re different!"

Mingzai protested, "You’re the only Chosen One who could inherit the Moon God’s Divine Format and perfectly merge with the Divine Body! You’re also one of this world’s most important Pioneers! You’re the future hope for entering the Transcendent Zone..."

"Alright, alright, stop flattering me. At the end of the day, I just got lucky."

Song Shiyi yawned. "If it weren’t for the Moon God, I would’ve died long ago. Just paying with my memories was a small price. I’d say I was pretty lucky."

"Let’s go home. It’s really cold out here." She sniffled, her nose red from the cold.