Chapter 294: Starting the Simulation
“You want me to go up against those monsters that have devoured almost an entire planet’s worth of Blood Crystals?” Lin Jiayao couldn’t help but ask the system mentally, “And not even by descending into another zombie, but as myself?”
“[There are no restrictions on entry or time. It all depends on the host’s performance. It only consumes a bit of the host’s mental power.]”
Just a bit?
Compared to the consumption of Blood Crystals, just consuming mental power was indeed more acceptable to Lin Jiayao.
After asking a few more questions and confirming with the system that it wouldn’t consume any Blood Crystals inside, Lin Jiayao stopped her interrogation.
Recalling the videos she had seen, and the terrifying amount of Blood Crystals contained within those monsters, Lin Jiayao had a few guesses.
These blood crystals, trapped in those ruined, desolate worlds, were likely stuck after devouring all the Blood Crystals on their respective planets, still unable to break through.
Or perhaps, after devouring everything, they lacked certain genes necessary for perfect evolution and were forever trapped in those ruined worlds.
In this case, if Lin Jiayao, a “blood crystal” containing a considerable amount of Blood Crystals, entered that world…
It was conceivable that she would be fiercely attacked. They all craved the missing pieces, whether Blood Crystals or genes.
And they had been trapped there for who knew how long. Even those blood crystals that were once rational might have already gone mad, leaving little room for negotiation.
Regardless, she would try…
But there was still a problem.
Lin Jiayao’s main body didn’t have enough Blood Crystals to sustain a single battle.
Normally, she only stored the equivalent of two or three Blood Crystals in her body, using Liquid Blood Crystal Veins.
After spending five hundred Blood Crystals, Lin Jiayao only had four left…
Even if she swallowed them all, it wouldn’t even be close to the blood crystal reserves of a B-rank blood crystal. How could she fight against those terrifying beings?
After all, the Simulator, like Descend, would simulate her based on her current state.
But it wasn’t completely hopeless.
Lin Jiayao could try simulating once, to see how much mental power it consumed, and also see if she could smuggle out some Blood Crystals using the Safehouse.
If those Blood Crystals could be smuggled out and used, and the mental consumption was acceptable, then she could use the “Foolish Old Man who moved mountains” approach. (TN: Referring to a Chinese fable about perseverance)
Stealing a little bit at a time, she could eventually empty them out.
Lin Jiayao exchanged her remaining four Blood Crystals for Blood Crystal Serum and drank it all.
After making all the preparations, Lin Jiayao opened the login interface again, clicked on Simulator, and looked at the list before her.
From the numerous entries Lin Jiayao had seen, the one most likely to be completely defenseless was the Black Rock Giant in [Blood Crystal No. 4444].
The Blood Crystals on its body were already falling off, scattered on the ground. If she could reach them, she could instantly fill the Safehouse.
Lin Jiayao’s Safehouse was now 5×5, able to hold twenty-five Blood Crystals at a time. This was no small amount.
Opening the [Blood Crystal No. 4444] interface again, Lin Jiayao hesitated for a moment, then clicked on the video.
“Crack…”
A faint cracking sound. Lin Jiayao felt her mind shattering, her body, starting from her hands, becoming unresponsive.
This feeling was completely different from descending or logging in, a truly soul-rending pain.
Enduring the agony, Lin Jiayao felt the fungal creep before her eyes disappear, replaced by a darkness faintly tinged with dark purple thunderclouds.
[Blood Crystal No. 4444 selected.]
[Simulator traversal confirmed.]
[Constructing body…]
[Construction complete.]
[Transferring consciousness…]
[Transfer successful.]
[Simulation initiated.]
A series of system prompts flashed before Lin Jiayao. Then, she felt her shattered mind slowly piecing itself back together…
…
“Rumble—”
Another earth-shattering roar. A massive boulder broke off from the “mountain,” along with a large amount of Blood Crystal fragments sliding down its “slopes.”
From afar, it looked like the giant mountain was bleeding, the glittering Blood Crystals the only spots of color against the dark gray sky.
At the same time, another color appeared in this apocalyptic landscape, seemingly several thousand meters away, opposite the giant mountain.
“Phew…”
Lin Jiayao, having just recovered from the mental anguish, slowly breathed, trying to calm her racing heart.
With the help of Hunting Rhythm and Turbine Heart Pump, her body stabilized.
“Damn… did it have to be so realistic?”
Sitting on the ground, feeling the immobility of her legs, Lin Jiayao couldn’t help but complain.
She could move freely in the training ground and in the dream world. Lin Jiayao began to suspect the system was doing this on purpose.
This undoubtedly added another layer of difficulty to her plan.
[Translation module loaded successfully.]
The last message lingered for a few seconds before disappearing.
“At least you’re being somewhat helpful…”
Lin Jiayao raised her hand, and countless mycelium threads extended from her hand, spreading across her body.
The mycelium and bone spurs, like an exoskeleton, covered her exposed legs and back, connecting directly to her spine.
With the help of the flesh and blood exoskeleton, Lin Jiayao stood up.
Since Blood Crystals weren’t actually consumed here, there was no need to create an insect chair for movement. The exoskeleton was much faster.
Ready, Lin Jiayao looked up at the towering mountain before her.
As she expected,
Even after she appeared in this world, the mountain remained motionless, like a true mountain.
[Stealth Movement].
As the exoskeleton connected to her legs and spine, Lin Jiayao activated Stealth Movement, an evolution she hadn’t tried before.
This ability, which could conceal her blood crystal aura, was obtained from the Zombie Loot Box, from the same zombie that had given her [Hemophagy], an evolution that had proven quite useful.
After using Stealth Movement to conceal her aura, Lin Jiayao began to slowly move towards the mountain.
Her target was the Blood Crystals tumbling amidst the dark purple lava at the foot of the mountain.
Although she couldn’t see the exact amount, just the fragments that had fallen added up to at least a few hundred Blood Crystals.
If she could sneak over there, getting twenty-five Blood Crystals would be a piece of cake.
“Tap… tap…”
Lin Jiayao slowly made her way towards the mountain, the distance of several thousand meters seeming endless.
And the closer she got to the foot of the mountain, the more fissures appeared in the ground, filled with churning, dark purple lava.
Lin Jiayao carefully avoided the bubbling lava and the ubiquitous fissures, careful not to let her legs touch the lava.
She wouldn’t risk her defenses on that.
The further she went, the more fissures there were.
For the last few hundred meters, there was barely any solid ground left.
Lin Jiayao could only slow down and extend several bone spurs from her waist, using them as legs.
Compared to her feet, the bone spurs had a smaller contact area with the ground. As long as there was a small gap, the bone spurs could find purchase.
200 meters… 150 meters… 100 meters…
As Lin Jiayao drew closer, her unease intensified.
A strong premonition warned her of danger. One wrong step, and she would be doomed.
Finally, Lin Jiayao carefully reached the first pile of Blood Crystals.
But between her and the crystals was a river of lava, dozens of meters wide.
She had to cross it to reach the Blood Crystals tumbling within.
“Phew…”
Lin Jiayao exhaled slowly, thinking.
It seemed that no matter what, if she wanted those Blood Crystals, she would have to touch the dark purple lava, even if the Blood Crystals were floating on top.
Floating…
Quickly, Lin Jiayao thought of a solution.
As long as she touched them, she could put them into the Safehouse. She had many ways to do this.
She began to produce mycelium by the lava river, countless threads mimicking red hemp ropes, as thick as a baby’s finger.
These ropes intertwined, forming a giant fishing net that she draped over her arm.
As she worked, Lin Jiayao occasionally glanced up at the Black Rock Giant above, confirming it was still motionless.
When the net was finished, Lin Jiayao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
No time to waste.
Lin Jiayao lifted the net, twisted her waist, and threw it with all her might towards the dark purple lava.
“Tsss—”
The moment the net touched the lava, it burst into flames, and a wave of intense pain, unlike anything she had ever felt, shot through her, transmitted by the burning mycelium.
Collect… collect, collect, collect!
Although most of the mycelium net was incinerated, some strands managed to touch the Blood Crystals tumbling on the surface.
Almost the instant the mycelium net disappeared, Lin Jiayao had filled the Safehouse.
Success!
Looking at the twenty-five Blood Crystals in the Safehouse, Lin Jiayao’s eyes widened slightly.
Even the mental pain seemed to lessen.
But she didn’t notice that a wisp of purple flame, following the mycelium net she threw, was rapidly spreading towards her hands.
Before she could even react, the flames engulfed her, the searing pain tearing at her skin.
The amethyst Divine Skin Armor was instantly activated, then, due to insufficient Blood Crystals, instantly burned through. The flames scorched her flesh, eyes, and hair, reaching for her heart and brain.
“Buzz——”
With a buzzing sound, Lin Jiayao felt her shattered body reassemble, and she instantly opened her eyes.
“Gasp… gasp… huff…”
She breathed heavily, looked at the healing fungal creep before her, and swallowed hard.
Her lips felt incredibly dry, as if they had been roasted.
After a long while, Lin Jiayao finally recovered from the searing aftereffects.
Enduring the throbbing pain in her head, Lin Jiayao opened the Safehouse and saw the twenty-five Blood Crystals neatly arranged inside.
She had actually brought them out…
Although there was a yellow exclamation mark on the upper right corner of each Blood Crystal, these were indeed Blood Crystals.
Lin Jiayao slowly calmed her breathing and was about to take one out to compare it with the Blood Crystals here when a system prompt appeared.
[Objects brought out from the Simulator cannot be taken out in reality.]
Huh?
She couldn’t take them out?
Then what was the point of going in?
To use these Blood Crystals to upgrade system creations?
Wasn’t that just working for free?
As if anticipating Lin Jiayao’s frustration, the system quickly gave another prompt.
[They can be exchanged for [Blood Crystal Serum] at the [Medical Station] and then taken out, host.]
“Huh?”
Lin Jiayao was puzzled.
She couldn’t take them out directly, but she could after exchanging them for Blood Crystal Serum?
Why such a complicated process?
It sounded like money laundering.
She couldn’t directly withdraw the money, but had to use other methods, such as lottery, casinos, bonuses, and dividends, to transfer it back to herself.
Lin Jiayao tentatively exchanged a Blood Crystal with an exclamation mark for Blood Crystal Serum and took it out. A bag of Blood Crystal Serum appeared before her.
Lin Jiayao tore open the packaging inside the blood cocoon and drank it.
In terms of packaging, feeling, quantity, and taste, it was completely indistinguishable from normal Blood Crystal Serum.
As long as she could take it out…
Lin Jiayao directly exchanged the remaining twenty-four Blood Crystals for Blood Crystal Serum and stored them in the warehouse as a reserve.
Perhaps because she had stayed inside for a short time and died quickly, Lin Jiayao didn’t feel any significant mental exhaustion.
In fact, the consumption was even lower than logging into an A-rank, although the mental damage and pain were real.
Fortunately, with the fungal creep constantly replenishing her, it was estimated that it wouldn’t be long before Lin Jiayao’s mental power fully recovered.
She could go steal another batch.
Striking while the iron was hot, Lin Jiayao was now blinded by Blood Crystals.
Even if she could only take twenty-five at a time, Lin Jiayao could still get a hundred or so in a day.
After confirming that her body was fine, Lin Jiayao opened the login interface again and clicked on the Simulator.
As expected, there was no cooldown time, and the [Blood Crystal No. 4444] entry was still available for simulation.
After thinking for a while, to be safe, Lin Jiayao went to the warehouse and drank four more bags of Blood Crystal Serum, ensuring that she could activate Dual Form Transformation and unleash a Dual Form Slash.
There were only twenty bags of Blood Crystal Serum left in the warehouse now, but there was no need to worry. If she succeeded this time, twenty bags would become forty-five.
With the experience from the first time, Lin Jiayao should be able to do it faster.
Cast the net, the moment it touched the Blood Crystals, sever the connection with the mycelium fishing net.
It was a pity that she couldn’t switch consciousness in the Simulator. Otherwise, switching consciousness and simulating in the training ground for a bit might be more efficient.
She just didn’t know if the system could simulate that black rock monster from before… It could barely simulate an A-rank, so it probably couldn’t.
After mentally preparing her plan for the next action, Lin Jiayao directly opened the Simulator slot and looked at the familiar 4444 among the numerous entries.
After confirming that the giant monster in the video was still motionless, Lin Jiayao directly chose [Blood Crystal No. 4444].
The familiar system prompt, the familiar mental tearing sensation.
Lin Jiayao, having experienced this once, calmly endured the familiar process.
After skillfully enduring the agonizing period, before opening her eyes, Lin Jiayao created a close-fitting exoskeleton.
While trying to stand up, Lin Jiayao opened her eyes.
But this time, she froze.
Everything in front of her was different from what she had felt before. The surroundings were no longer dark.
Her body was enveloped in a pale purple light beam.
She slowly looked down. These pale purple beams formed a large circle around her, about a dozen meters in diameter.
As if she was standing in the center of a purple spotlight.
And these spotlights came from the sky.
Lin Jiayao looked up stiffly and saw a huge single eye, piercing through the clouds in the hazy purple sky, staring at her.
Their gazes met.
It was the head of the Black Rock Giant.
“Rumble—”
“Rumble—”
Instantly, the ground around Lin Jiayao began to shake violently. She widened her eyes and watched as the dark purple lava gushed out from the earth’s crust like a fountain, surging towards her like a tsunami, carrying lava fragments.
She couldn’t escape, it was too fast.
[Perfect Form].
A large amount of Divine Skin Armor frantically extracted the few remaining Blood Crystal Liquids in Lin Jiayao’s body, forming a huge amethyst tower shield in front of her arms, blocking in front of her.
But before the lava sprayed over, a giant hand with a missing palm slammed towards Lin Jiayao at an unimaginable speed.
Through the translucent amethyst tower shield, Lin Jiayao watched the broken arm of the Black Rock Giant slam towards her.
It was like watching a mountain topple towards her.
The panic in Lin Jiayao’s eyes only flashed for a moment. There wasn’t even time to call out for communication. She quickly covered her entire body and the tower shield in front of her with mycelium.
“Boom——————————”
The huge broken arm slammed onto the mycelium-covered tower shield, almost instantly depleting the Blood Crystals in the Divine Skin Armor.
The tower shield only momentarily slowed the attack.
But it was enough.
Collect…
The Blood Crystal fragments still flowing from the broken arm were absorbed the moment they touched the mycelium on Lin Jiayao’s tower shield and directly put into the Safehouse.
But in the next moment, the giant hand crushed the tower shield, and along with the lava, instantly crushed Lin Jiayao’s body.
“Phew—”
Lin Jiayao abruptly opened her eyes and gasped violently. This time, she felt as if her mind had been torn open.
This novel way of dying, like being crushed inch by inch under a hydraulic press, Lin Jiayao really didn’t want to experience it again.
So she angered it…
Well… it was already lacking Blood Crystals, and she went over to steal them, not once, but twice.
Even Lin Jiayao herself would be furious, let alone the Black Rock Giant.
Lin Jiayao slowly shifted her gaze towards the Safehouse.
Thirteen…
Better than nothing, at least she didn’t die in vain, didn’t suffer for nothing.
Lin Jiayao exchanged these thirteen Blood Crystals with exclamation marks for Blood Crystal Serum and put them in the warehouse.
She couldn’t go to [Blood Crystal No. 4444] anymore.
The third time, the other party would definitely be furious and would protect all the Blood Crystals to prevent Lin Jiayao from taking them.
If Lin Jiayao insisted on going, she would probably die even more miserably than the previous two times.
Her body there would probably shatter and disappear just like the descended body died.
Not being swallowed by the other party was a small comfort to Lin Jiayao.
I can steal your Blood Crystals, and you can’t do anything about it. This was one of the happiest things.
But Lin Jiayao didn’t dare to try again in a short time.
At least she had to wait for half an hour for the mental tear to heal before considering it again.
Although she had entered the Simulator twice, Lin Jiayao still didn’t understand it, at least she hadn’t obtained any useful information from it.
If she entered again, Lin Jiayao planned not to steal Blood Crystals.
She wanted to try and see if she could communicate with the survivors in one of the worlds inside.
After all, the system was somewhat kind and had loaded a real-time translation system for her.
Lin Jiayao rested while browsing the numbers in the Simulator.
After checking dozens of numbered worlds, Lin Jiayao set her sights on one of them, a number she had seen before.
[Blood Crystal No. 23369]
This numbered world was shrouded in mist.
Blue stone bricks covered the ground, engraved with incomprehensible text. The mist made it impossible to see the surroundings clearly from the video. She could only see a withered figure meditating in the center of the platform, and a giant sword behind it that almost pierced the sky.
This scene, compared to other terrifying apocalyptic worlds, reminded Lin Jiayao of civilization.
At least the withered figure, whose gender was unknown, was still wearing tattered clothes.
After quietly waiting for half an hour and feeling that her mind had almost recovered, Lin Jiayao looked at [Blood Crystal No. 23369] again.
Confirm simulation.
Lin Jiayao’s soul began to be torn apart bit by bit, slowly reassembling in another place.
