Life in a Simulation - Chapter 34

Bang!

The door to the training ground was kicked open, and Edward, clad in armor, strode in.

“What happened?” Seeing the bloodstains all over the ground, Edward asked in astonishment.

“Young Master Edward, Knight Henry was stabbed by this peasant using despicable means, in a fair duel,” Knight Vincent explained respectfully, stepping forward.

Knight Harold added, “We just wanted to have a friendly sparring match with this peasant lad. We didn’t expect him to hide a dagger on him.”

“Enough! Save those excuses for three-year-olds. The Gran Fief only has five usable knights left, and now one of them is blind. Do you want me to be a lord without any knights?” Edward was in a very bad mood. These subordinates, whose minds were filled with nothing but muscles, were always causing him trouble.

“I’m very sorry, Young Master Edward!” Both men bowed deeply in apology, filled with regret. They swore to God that their intention in challenging the peasant lad was just to “lightly” teach him a lesson. They never expected him to be so ruthless and carry an extra dagger.

Vincent helped the rolling Henry on the ground to his feet, had the servants take him to his room, and called the itinerant doctor staying in the castle to treat him.

“What about this lad, Young Master Edward?” Harold pointed at Zhou Ming, who was lying on the ground with a sword piercing his chest.

Edward glanced at Zhou Ming on the ground and shook his head: “His lung has been pierced by the sword. He won’t survive. Put him out of his misery.”

“Yes, Young Master Edward.” Harold drew his sword from his waist, walked up to Zhou Ming, and raised it high.

“Enough, stop it all! Cough, cough, cough!”

An aged voice came through, accompanied by violent coughing.

Harold, who was about to strike, turned his head and quickly sheathed his sword, kneeling on one knee facing the door.

Baron Connor had arrived. Despite his severely weakened body, he stood before everyone, supported by little Tony and Lady Madeline.

“Dad, how did you get up? You’re not fully recovered. How could you get up?” Edward was startled and quickly moved to support his father. He wondered what his father was doing up. Hadn’t he already said that he would handle all matters in the fief?

Baron Connor’s body trembled violently, and his pale face was filled with extreme disappointment and anger. He pointed at Edward and said, “Edward, do you have to kill your own father… cough, cough, to end all this… cough, cough, cough. Can’t you just spare little Ryan, cough, as your dying father’s last wish? Cough, cough, cough. I’m dying, and everything in the fief will be yours. Can’t you even tolerate two peasants? Where has your knightly virtue of ‘tolerance’ gone? Cough, cough, cough…”

Edward patted his father’s back for a while and quickly explained, “No, Father, I’ve already promised to let them go! It was the knights who stopped Ryan, and besides, Ryan’s chest was pierced by a sword. He couldn’t possibly survive. I asked Knight Harold to kill him just to put him out of his misery.”

“I’m dying too, so give me a quick death as well!” Baron Connor cursed, his body convulsing with another bout of violent coughing.

Tony, on the side, ran to Zhou Ming’s side and, staring blankly at the sword in his chest, hugged him and wept, “Ryan, don’t die, don’t die! We were supposed to explore the world together, we were supposed to go to school in the capital. Don’t leave me behind!”

“What a poor child, why were you born into this miserable world?” Lady Madeline was overwhelmed with grief, constantly dabbing at the tears in the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Do not…”

“Do not draw…”

At that moment, Zhou Ming, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, suddenly spoke.

“Ryan is speaking, Ryan, what are you saying? Do not draw what?” Little Tony wiped away his tears and leaned in to ask Zhou Ming.

“Do not draw the sword, do not draw the sword!” After repeating it twice, Zhou Ming’s body went limp, and he fell into a deep coma.

“Do not draw the sword?”

Tony was puzzled for a moment, then, catching sight of the sword piercing Ryan’s chest and lungs, he quickly shouted to the people around, “Come and save him! Do not remove the sword from his body. He can still be saved. We must save him!”

The surrounding servants, in a panic, carefully lifted Zhou Ming and carried him into one of the castle’s bedrooms.

…

In a pitch-black void.

“Ding!”

“The game character has entered a critical state. Would the player like to exit the game?” The system’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Zhou Ming steadied himself and looked around, finding himself in a space of nothingness—no light, no worldly objects, only his still keen senses telling him that he existed.

“System, entering a critical state means the game character is not dead, right?” Zhou Ming asked.

“Yes, host.”

“Can I stay in the game? Since I’m not dead, there’s still hope, still a chance to get a high score!”

Zhou Ming did not want to end up with an extremely low score of just a few achievement points in this game where he had struggled to survive for eighteen years.

“It is possible, host, but this state usually has only two outcomes: either death or a prolonged critical condition… The probability of a miracle occurring is very low.”

“I choose the miracle!”

…

Time passed bit by bit.

Zhou Ming, in the darkness, had no idea whether a day, two days, a year, or two years had passed outside.

He could only wait patiently, wait…

Until one day, he heard the sound of heartbroken weeping…

“Brother, brother…”

“Brother, wake up. If you don’t wake up, how will I survive in this world alone?”

“Boohoo… boohoo…”

Alice, it was his sister Alice’s voice. I can hear the sounds from outside.

Suddenly, Zhou Ming’s fingers on the hospital bed twitched slightly, and then his hearing, sense of smell, taste, and vision all returned to his body.

Immediately following was the sensation of being gnawed by ten thousand ants, a pain like tidal waves, which made him let out an “ah” of agony.

“Brother is awake, brother you’re awake? That’s great! That’s great!” Alice, who had just been crying beside him, immediately wiped away her tears and laughed with joy, jumping up and down in happiness.

“Water… water…” Zhou Ming’s dry and hoarse voice said.

Alice quickly brought over a bowl of lukewarm water and helped him drink a few sips.

After swallowing the bowl of warm water, Zhou Ming felt a bit more comfortable and realized that he was lying in his familiar home.

The sword that had been piercing him had already been removed, and the bandaged wound, though slightly pus-filled, was no longer bleeding.

“Alice, how long have I been lying in bed?”

“Over half a month, brother. They said that you’re still alive now can only be considered a miracle.”

“They…”

Who are “they”?

Life in a Simulation - Chapter 34

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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