Life in a Simulation - Chapter 5

A sharp pain throbbed in his head.

After struggling to adjust to the light, the familiar gray walls of the rental room came into view once again.

What just happened?

Zhou Ming tried hard to recall, only remembering that he had slashed down two of Li Shouzheng’s loyal henchmen with a kitchen knife before a crowd surrounded him, and then everything went black…

He opened the familiar game panel.

Mission Map: The Reversal Life of Zhang Ergou

Game Character: Zhang Ergou

Game Status: Ended

Property: 5 (You own five acres of thin land and a bamboo and wood house)

Status: 0 (The lowest of the low)

Reputation: 4 (You once had a bit of fame, and your final double kill left a legend in Niujia Village)

Partner: 0 (You experienced a beautiful romance, but it ended in a bitter tragedy)

Offspring: 1 (Congratulations, you left behind a bit of your bloodline [ +10 Achievement Points ])

Life Span: 16 (Your lifespan exceeded that of 23% of the villagers)

Achievement Points Earned: 36

Game Evaluation: E (Your short life once sparkled, but it was fleeting)

Highest Achievement: 36 (500 Achievement Points required to unlock the next level)

“Offspring? I have an offspring?”

Could it be?

Zhou Ming suddenly remembered that in the game, in order to quickly win over Wang Xiucai’s daughter, Wang Xiu, he had adopted a “get on the train before buying the ticket” strategy, sharing some intimate moments. He didn’t expect it to be so effective.

Li Wenhao, oh Li Wenhao, even if you took my woman, you still ended up as my pawn, wearing the hat I dyed for you.

But…

No matter how Zhou Ming cursed, it couldn’t change his tragic end of losing everything. Compared to the green hat on Li Wenhao’s head, he had nothing.

Anger, grievance, and frustration all surged into his heart at once.

Why? Why did these situations always arise at the end, always with someone coming out to sabotage his happiness? Did he provoke them?

“System, I ask you, how can Zhang Ergou make a comeback and completely destroy the Li family?” Zhou Ming asked the system.

“The system cannot answer. Please find your own solution,” the system replied.

“Are there any skill cards or martial arts manuals that can increase the player’s combat power?”

“Please search in the system mall,” the system opened the mall interface.

The system mall was filled with thousands of items, divided into six major categories: Items, Characters, Skills, Technology, Cultivation Methods, and Fortunes. Only the first four categories were unlocked, while Cultivation Methods and Fortunes remained locked in gray, to be opened only when higher-level maps were unlocked.

Due to the limitations of the system’s rules, apart from a few items in the Items category, all other items in the categories could not be extracted in their physical forms. For example, the various Character Cards in the Characters category, the Skill Cards in the Skills category, and the Engineering Drawings in the Technology category were all skill/knowledge-based information. After exchange, they could only be used in the game.

After reviewing all the items in the Skills category, Zhou Ming found several skill cards that could enhance the combat power of his game character.

“Primary Hunting Skill: After use, you will gain all the hunting skills of a primary hunter. Exchange requirement: 1000 Achievement Points.”

“Primary Boxing Skill: After use, you will gain all the combat skills of a primary boxer. Exchange requirement: 1000 Achievement Points.”

“Primary Physical Training Skill: After use, you will gain all the physical skills of a primary martial artist. Exchange requirement: 1500 Achievement Points.”

Apart from these three primary skill cards that could strengthen the body and defeat ordinary opponents, the other skill cards were basically useless.

“System, after using these skill cards, can I generally take on ten people at once?”

Facing the overwhelming numbers of the Li family, being able to fight ten people at once was the minimum standard.

“No, only by using intermediate-level skill cards like Intermediate Hunting Skill or Intermediate Boxing Skill can you possibly take on ten people at once.”

“Intermediate Hunting Skill?”

Zhou Ming flipped to the intermediate skill card list and was stunned when he saw that Intermediate Hunting Skill required 5000 Achievement Points for exchange, and Intermediate Physical Training Skill was even more outrageous at 8000 Achievement Points.

Looking at his account balance with only 57 Achievement Points, he couldn’t even afford the primary skill cards, let alone the intermediate ones.

He was so poor that he couldn’t even buy a single item from the system mall. How could he possibly take revenge and make a successful comeback?

“For now, the only plan is to accumulate slowly in the game. Once I have enough Achievement Points, I’ll make a big move…”

Zhou Ming decided to adjust his strategy, deciding to temporarily avoid direct conflict with the Li family, endure for a while, bypass those landmines, and accumulate more Achievement Points first.

He entered the game again!

…

It was still the same beginning: starting to speak at three months old, saving his brother at three, saving his sister at six, then working in the fields, clearing forests, solving the problem of food and warmth before the age of fifteen, and building a two-section bamboo and wood house with a courtyard for his family. After his brother Zhang Da got married, it was soon his turn to settle his own life.

Sitting on the earthen slope by the river at the village entrance, he watched the group of playful girls washing clothes by the river, all in their mid-teens.

Who should he choose as his future wife?

His gaze fell on the beautiful girl, like a peony among green leaves, surrounded by several other girls, and his heart ached.

“Xiu Niang, I can’t choose her. Li Wenhao has already proposed to Wang Xiucai yesterday and will marry her in three days. She no longer belongs to me.”

Although Wang Xiu herself was unwilling to become Li Wenhao’s concubine, Zhou Ming had also considered eloping with her and running away. But if he did that, given Li Wenhao’s and the Li family’s temperament, they would definitely not let it go. Would he have to take his parents, siblings, and the entire family and run away?

That was definitely not a realistic option.

“Forget it, I’ll choose Li Er Ya, Xiu Niang’s close friend. Although she’s not as pretty as Xiu Niang, she has a decent figure. Her skin is not as fair as Xiu Niang’s, but her wheat-colored skin represents health. And those hips, even my mother praised them. She’s not a bad choice either…”

Temporarily putting aside his longing for Xiu Niang, he settled for the next best option and began a fierce pursuit of Li Er Ya. Without any technical difficulty, within just a few days, she was completely smitten with him and would marry no one else.

After proposing and winning over his future in-laws, he chose an auspicious day, and without any unexpected incidents, he successfully brought his wife home.

After settling down, Li Er Ya’s womb was quite cooperative, and soon she was going to add to their family. His brother Zhang Da already had a son, and not long ago, his sister-in-law was pregnant again. With the family set to grow by four or five people, the originally not-so-comfortable family conditions became strained once again.

In order to support such a large family, Zhou Ming and his brother Zhang Da had to work from dawn to dusk. Besides farming, during the off-season, they also hunted in the mountains, fished in the rivers, and did odd jobs for wealthy families. Zhou Ming also taught himself some carpentry skills, but unfortunately, his talent was limited, and the tables and chairs he made could only be used at home.

As seasons changed and years passed, in the blink of an eye, more than thirty years went by. Zhou Ming, who accidentally caught a cold while working in the fields, now lay in bed, unable to move, with his end approaching.

After drinking a bowl of bitter medicine, taking advantage of his last moments of clarity, Zhou Ming had his wife gather all their children and descendants together and counted them one by one.

“One, two, three, four… four. If you hadn’t taken Chun’er with you to chop wood in the mountains that year, Chun’er wouldn’t have been taken away by a wolf,” Zhou Ming sighed to his wife.

“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of Chun’er…” Tears streamed down Li Er Ya’s eyes as she blamed herself.

“Darling grandchildren, come closer, let grandpa see you. Grandpa is leaving, you must all be good… live well…”

The smile on his face gradually froze, the last breath in his chest slowly dissipated, and his blurred vision became even more unclear. In the final darkness, he could only faintly hear the heartbroken wailing echoing throughout the room…

…

“System, open the game panel.”

“Sure, host.”

Mission Map: The Reversal Life of Zhang Ergou

Game Character: Zhang Ergou

Game Status: Ended

Property: 12 (You own ten acres of thin land and a bamboo and wood house)

Status: 1 (The lowest layer, but you have gained some respect [ +10 Achievement Points ])

Reputation: 6 (You have a bit of fame, and you will be remembered for a while)

Partner: 1 (You had a beautiful marriage, and you walked together to the end [ +50 Achievement Points ])

Offspring: 12 (Congratulations, you left behind a considerable number of descendants. Your family will continue to thrive)

Life Span: 48 (Your lifespan exceeded that of 78% of the villagers. You are a symbol of longevity in the village)

Achievement Points Earned: 246

Game Evaluation: C (Your life may be ordinary, but you created many values)

Highest Achievement: 246 (500 Achievement Points required to unlock the next level)

Life in a Simulation - Chapter 5

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Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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