Life in a Simulation - Chapter 6

Seeing the familiar gray walls of the rental room and feeling a somewhat intense hunger in his stomach, Zhou Ming quickly took out a few packs of crispy noodles from the wardrobe and began to wolf them down with cold water.

The time flow in the “Simulating Life” system does not match that of the outside world. Since players cannot exit the game midway, spending 20 years in the game is equivalent to one day passing in the real world.

Fortunately, the system provides a hibernation function for the host’s body. During hibernation, the player’s physiological functions are reduced to a minimum. Generally speaking, as long as the player does not stay in the game for more than a hundred years at a time, relying on the hibernation function, a two or three-day gaming experience would only leave the player feeling a bit thirsty and hungry.

If a player is truly extraordinary and exceeds the maximum limit of the hibernation function in the game, to ensure the host’s health, the system will forcibly terminate the game and pull the player back to reality.

…

After finishing three packs of crispy noodles, Zhou Ming sat on the edge of the bed, facing the system panel in his mind, contemplating his next move.

To be honest, Zhou Ming felt that among the three games he had played, aside from the first two being rather tragic, the development of the third one was quite acceptable. He had a loving marriage, a large family, and died of old age. Although there were some ups and downs and he never had a moment of leisure, he was still quite satisfied with the outcome.

This could be considered an acceptable ending for most ordinary people.

However, looking at the C-level game evaluation and the total of 246 achievement points he had earned, Zhou Ming knew that if he were content to be an ordinary person in the game, simply living an honest life, the maximum achievement points he could earn would not exceed three hundred, with no significant room for improvement.

Not to mention any real comeback.

What is a comeback? It means living a long life, possessing more wealth, achieving high status and reputation, and marrying the woman you truly desire.

If you can’t achieve even one of these, a so-called comeback would be nothing but a futile attempt, like grasping at the moon in the water or clouds in the sky.

After pondering for a while, Zhou Ming opened the Skills section in the system mall, focusing on three skills.

“Primary Farming Skill: After use, gain the farming techniques of an experienced farmer. Crop yield +5%. Exchange requirement: 100 achievement points.”

“Primary Blacksmithing Skill: After use, gain the blacksmithing techniques of an experienced blacksmith. Blacksmithing speed +5%. Exchange requirement: 100 achievement points.”

“Primary Carpentry Skill: After use, gain the carpentry techniques of an experienced carpenter. Tool-making speed +5%. Exchange requirement: 100 achievement points.”

These three skill cards are the cheapest among all the items in the system mall.

Currently, Zhou Ming’s player account had an achievement point balance of exactly 303.

“Primary Farming Skill purchase successful. Achievement points -100. Binding to the corresponding mission map is required and cannot be unbound or recycled!”

“Primary Blacksmithing Skill purchase successful. Achievement points -100…”

“Primary Carpentry Skill purchase successful. Achievement points -100…”

After purchasing the three skill cards, Zhou Ming felt much more confident.

In the first three games, Zhou Ming, who had already survived for over eighty years in total, knew how to farm, blacksmith, carpenter, and even fish and hunt. He was especially skilled at farming, even better than an average experienced farmer… However, aside from farming, he could hardly be considered proficient in blacksmithing and carpentry. After all, he had never apprenticed under professional blacksmiths or carpenters in the game, and these manual skills could not be self-taught without proper guidance.

In the ancient agricultural civilization era, blacksmiths and carpenters could be considered the “middle class.” With their skilled craftsmanship, they could support an entire family.

If he could also be a blacksmith and carpenter, and combine these skills with his strong suit—farming—not only would he have no problem supporting his family, but he would surely accumulate a considerable fortune!

With ample wealth, he could support more descendants. With more hands, he could reclaim more wasteland. After forming a snowball effect, earning a large number of achievement points would not be a problem at all!

Enter the game again!

…

Ten days later in the real world.

Zhou Ming opened his eyes and sat up on the single bed.

He opened the game panel.

Mission Map: The Reversal Life of Zhang Ergou

Game Character: Zhang Ergou

Game Status: Ended

Property: 82 (You own five acres of paddy fields, forty acres of thin land, two large bamboo and wood houses, and some gold and silver assets)

Status: 3 (Your wealth has brought you some status)

Reputation: 16 (You are quite famous, and your story is spread throughout the surrounding areas)

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

Offspring: 26 (Congratulations, you left behind a considerable number of descendants. Your family will continue to thrive)

Life Span: 58 (Your lifespan exceeded that of 88% of the villagers. You are one of the few long-lived individuals)

Achievement Points Earned: 496

Game Evaluation: B (Your life is like the stars in the sky—though dim, they shine eternally)

Highest Achievement: 496 (500 Achievement Points required to unlock the next level)

“I’ve played five rounds in a row. Why am I still a few points short of 500?”

Zhou Ming frowned deeply. Over these ten days, he had played five rounds consecutively, and he didn’t expect that the best round he played was still a bit short of 500 achievement points.

In these five games, aside from one where he died young due to a severe childhood illness and another where he was burned to death by a shaman summoned by the villagers for his extraordinary behavior, the other three rounds basically went smoothly to the end, and he earned more than 300 achievement points in each round.

However, the 500 achievement points remained like an invisible glass ceiling, impossible to break through.

“It can’t be. In these games, by farming, blacksmithing, and carpentry, I’ve earned a considerable fortune and had many descendants. I’ve had three or four wives, and I’ve never lacked food or clothing. Later, I learned how to take care of my health and lived longer than before. Why?”

Zhou Ming was puzzled. In the game, he had been constantly working hard to make money, reclaim wasteland, build houses, have children, and then continue making money, reclaiming land, buying property, building houses, and having children… He hardly stopped at any point, yet all his efforts only earned him a B-level evaluation.

“Host, an A-level evaluation is not that difficult to achieve. Please carefully review the six scores in your game process. The overall score is not determined by which item is the highest, but by which item is the lowest,” the system kindly reminded him, seeing that Zhou Ming seemed to be stuck in a dead end.

“The lowest score?”

Zhou Ming looked at the game panel and saw two rather thin numbers. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Only status and reputation have the lowest scores. Do I need to improve these two scores in order to successfully pass the level?”

“How can I improve my status and reputation in the game?” Zhou Ming asked.

“The system cannot provide a specific method, but status is composed of factors such as personal ability, resource support, control of property, and government-granted rights…”

“Reputation is divided into positive and negative. Positive reputation includes good deeds and actions with positive impacts made by the player, while negative reputation is related to the player’s evil deeds and negative actions…”

“So, no matter whether I do good or bad things in the game, as long as I create an impact, I can earn reputation?” Zhou Ming said.

“That’s right, host,” the system replied.

Zhou Ming nodded thoughtfully, seeming to understand something. After thinking through his strategy, he said, “System, this time, I know what to do!”

However, before entering the game, Zhou Ming first spent 1000 achievement points in the system mall to purchase a Primary Hunting Card.

Life in a Simulation - Chapter 6

Comments for "Chapter 6"

Hate that cliffhanger, don’t you?

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