I Have a God Simulator

...

Lu Shan stood outside Sand City, looking at the city ahead, which was surrounded by towering metal roses. His legs felt a little weak.

The Bamboo Reed Kingdom had no so-called cities, only scattered mountain peaks. Each mountain was shared by a few Bamboo People, who built bamboo towers and houses following the mountain’s contours, but they had never seen such a concentrated and magnificent settlement before.

The dry, desolate desert had an air of death. Thick white clouds lingered in the sky, and among them, flower-shaped clouds would occasionally drift by. They were said to be Cloud Roses, another strange life form cultivated by the Yao Race.

Alongside them were two long, straight, wide roads. The sides of the roads were paved with white stone piers. From time to time, flying shuttles would speed past through the sand, like some kind of large stone snakes, kicking up clouds of yellow dust behind them.

"Ahead is Sand City. You will all be spending three days here."

The guide leading the way had a body shaped like a hill, its enormous head protruding from the sand.

This guide’s identity was anything but ordinary.

It was an Apostle of the Yao God, and one of the two administrators of this world: the Guest Monk.

The Guest Monk slowly turned its massive head. Its wide mouth opened and closed, and the gale it exhaled nearly made Lu Shan lose his footing. Fortunately, Zhur Hu caught him.

"Sand City is under the jurisdiction of another Apostle, Slime Mod. Don’t be afraid to bother him; he is everywhere. Go on in. He will receive you."

The Guest Monk slowly sank into the sand and quickly vanished from sight.

Lu Shan and Zhur Hu looked at each other, both seeing the nervousness in the other’s eyes.

Zhur Hu forced a pout and said, "It’s nothing special. Just a city."

A cold laugh came from the side.

"Just a city? Ignorance truly is bliss."

"Brother Du, don’t be like that..."

The speakers were two tall Funeral Race members with grayish-green skin. They were from the Ghost Realm. For this invitation to Sand City, each of the two Divine Kingdoms had received two spots.

Lu Shan only knew that of these two Funeral Race members, the one with the thorny words was named Binn Du, and the other, who was trying to placate him, was named Binn Ji.

Zhur Hu glared fiercely at Binn Du. "Are you deliberately trying to pick a fight?"

"Heh heh, what are you going to do about it?" Binn Du said with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.

Lu Shan and Binn Ji quickly tried to calm the other two.

Just then, a man in green suddenly appeared out of thin air.

He wore a bright green overcoat, held a walking stick, and had a tall, slender figure. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, the brim completely obscuring his face.

"Welcome, welcome, friends and visitors from other lands. I am the mayor of this city, Slime Mod. Now, please follow me. I will give you a tour of the city."

The four of them immediately fell silent.

This person before them was also an Apostle of the Yao God, a figure of noble status.

’The Yao God had actually sent two Apostles to act as their guides, which left them feeling both flattered and overwhelmed. At the same time, they grew even more uneasy. A single city had two Apostles... The Yao Race truly is a powerful people.’

The Green-Robed Apostle led the way, casually introducing them to Sand City.

"This city was established very recently, so it’s rather simple. However, because it’s a new city, it holds many possibilities and doesn’t have so many rules and regulations."

"Oh, right. If you drink some of this [High Furnace Honey Wine], you’ll be able to understand the various languages of the Sand City People."

Slime Mod handed each of them a ceramic flask, and all four drank a little of the wine.

"Here we have the Ghost Lighthouse, the Rose Garden, the Mining Area, the Martial Arts Arena, and the forest district... Where would you like to start?"

"The Ghost Lighthouse!"

"The Rose Garden."

The envoys from the two sides gave different answers, and neither side would yield.

This was something their own Apostles had instructed them on before they left their Divine Kingdoms. Although the Ghost Realm and the Bamboo Reed Kingdom were cooperating externally, they were still competing with each other in secret. It was a matter of future influence and the dignity of each side.

Slime Mod snapped his fingers. "Simple."

His body split in two, and he led the two groups toward different areas.

The Rose Garden was behind the Divine Hall within Sand City, enclosed by a wooden fence. In the small patch of soil grew roses of various colors. They were small, short, and dry, yet they stood tall with tenacity.

Lu Shan saw Yu Gu’s friend, the Extraordinary Being known as Shaker.

It was just as Yu Gu had said.

—That fellow is huge. You’ll see him the moment you arrive at the Rose Garden. He’s always in the Rose Garden.

Shaker was an enormous Sand Monster, shaped like a great serpent with a rough, tough hide. It had no mouth or nose, only a gaping, bloody maw shaped like a vortex and filled with sharp teeth.

However, from that abyssal maw capable of tearing any flesh to shreds, a fine mist sprayed out, artificially creating a gentle drizzle that moistened the flower beds.

A ferocious, powerful monster meticulously caring for fragile flowers—the scene was indescribably strange, yet it touched Lu Shan in an inexplicable way.

Zhur Hu was so nervous his body was crackling.

"Are you still going to challenge it? It looks so strong... This oppressive aura is almost on par with Mr. Yan Jiu’s," Lu Shan said in a low voice.

Zhur Hu gritted his teeth and said, "Yes!"

As if to prove his courage, Zhur Hu roared, "I challenge you! Mr.... Shaker!"

The Sand King, who had been observing the roses, finally turned its head. Its deep, terrifying maw turned toward them, sending a chill down both Lu Shan’s and Zhur Hu’s spines.

"You are..."

As if recalling something, Shaker’s mouth split open even wider, revealing sharp teeth that looked like they were composed of countless blades. "Visitors from the Bamboo Reed Kingdom, right? I heard from the Lord Mayor."

"By the way, how is Yu Gu doing over there? Is he well?"

Beneath the terrifying, ferocious exterior was a gentle and friendly voice.

This eased Lu Shan’s tension.

He took out several bamboo shoots wrapped in vines from the bamboo basket on his back. He presented them with both hands and stammered a little, "Mr. Shaker, Mr. Yu Gu asked me to bring these for you. He said you would like them."

"Thank you for your trouble... What are these?"

Speaking of this, Lu Shan couldn’t help but puff out his chest. "These are a specialty of the Bamboo Reed Kingdom, bamboo shoots. They can be planted to grow bamboo. Not only can bamboo be used as a material, but it can also provide shelter from the wind and rain."

Bamboo shoots that left the Bamboo Reed Kingdom could not grow into Bamboo People, so this was just a small gift.

Shaker took a soft breath, blowing the bamboo shoots into the flowerbed and planting them in the soil.

"Is this the right way to plant them? The pointy end should be the sprout?"

Lu Shan nodded. "Yes."

"What an interesting and novel plant. I’ve never seen anything like it."

Zhur Hu, at his side, couldn’t help but emphasize again, "Mr. Shaker, I want to challenge you!"

Lu Shan was exasperated.

Before they came, Zhur Hu, the number one warrior of the Bamboo Reed Kingdom, had wanted to challenge an Extraordinary Being of the Yao Race. In the Bamboo Reed Kingdom, Zhur Hu was a powerful warrior second only to the Lord Apostle Zhur Nan.

Hearing from Yu Gu that Shaker once had an astonishing record of fighting one against a hundred had made Zhur Hu eager to try his hand even before he arrived.

Faced with the Bamboo Person’s challenge, Shaker said, "Well... I’m a gardener, not a combatant. You’ve got the wrong person."

Lu Shan and Zhur Hu couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

’A gardener who can fight a hundred men? You call that a gardener?’

But then they had another thought.

’The master planter, Yu Gu, is also a gardener.’

’The gardeners of the Yao Race are truly a magical profession—they can plant, and they can fight.’

"There are quite a few Extraordinary Beings in Sand City who are skilled at fighting. I just got lucky in the past," Shaker said casually.

Zhur Hu refused to give up. "Who’s the best fighter in Sand City?"

Shaker thought for a moment. "In the north of the city, there’s the Burrower Monster, Shi Xiao. In the south, there’s the Ice Giant, Bingg Quantou. They’re both very strong fighters. You could try them."

Zhur Hu cupped his fists. "Many thanks."

He said to Lu Shan, "Wait for my good news."

That night, Lu Shan waited for a long time, but Zhur Hu did not return.

Lu Shan searched all over and finally found him in a corner by the Sand City Wall.

Zhur Hu was sitting in the corner, hugging his knees, his eyes vacant.

A long time later, he finally said, "I want to go home."

Lu Shan didn’t know what had happened to him and could only pat the Bamboo Person’s strong shoulders. "Mr. Yan Jiu also said that the Yao Race is full of powerful experts, and he is just an ordinary one among them."

He looked out beyond the low wall. The brass-like Desert Roses shimmered with a golden luster, glittering brightly under the moonlight.

The entire city was lit up, resembling a forest of iron and sand filled with fireflies.

’There is another kind of beauty here.’