In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 3 The Rise of the Demon

"So that's what 'the gift of evil' means?"

All the knowledge he learned was used to kill. This entry certainly lives up to his description.

Chen Qi was somewhat surprised by everything in the simulation, but not overly astonished—after all, these were things he could do himself.

Both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine share a common point in terms of medication: strict control over dosage.

If the dosage is out of balance, a life-saving drug can become a deadly one.

This is common knowledge for ordinary students of Tokyo University, even if they haven't studied medicine.

Unfortunately, this is Terra, a place of cultural discontinuity.

Here, doctors are probably rarer than giant pandas.

Even among people living in mobile cities, most still cannot afford medical care.

Therefore, these things that seem like common sense are knowledge that only the wealthy, who have received higher education and are qualified to become doctors through long-term illness, can master in Terra.

But if Chen Qi wants to do it, he can do it.

The same principle applies to integrating medicine into martial arts.

With more combat experience, soldiers will instinctively know which parts to attack to effectively reduce the enemy's combat effectiveness.

As a doctor, Chen Qi targets weaknesses with a specific purpose, making his attacks more efficient, precise, and cunning.

Which acupoints can paralyze people, which weaknesses can paralyze or even kill them—Chen Qi can do all of these if he can hit them.

"I should say, thank goodness I didn't choose [The Great Western King]?" Chen Qi was still a little shaken.

"Otherwise, if you learn anything and can kill people, coupled with a bloodthirsty personality... it feels like over time, you'll be close to becoming a humanoid creature."

However, so far, the entry for "speaker" doesn't seem to have gained any traction.

While Chen Qi was filled with doubt, his simulation and prediction continued...

At 16, you graduated from high school with excellent grades. Just when you and your family thought you were close to realizing your dream of becoming a doctor, a minor conflict arose between your country and its neighbor.

A month ago, the Witch King dealt a heavy blow to the Gallic vanguard, and the "Battle of the Four Emperors," which had already been officially declared to have begun, has now reached a fever pitch.

Although the vanguard was severely damaged by the Witch King, the Leitanian army was still unable to gain the upper hand on the battlefield due to the strong blood supply generated by the united will of the Gallic people and the general mobilization led by the Gallic emperor himself.

The tide of battle finally turned with the arrival of reinforcements from Victoria and Ursus.

Now, facing the resistance of a million Gauls defending their homeland, Letania, at the behest of the Witch King, has begun conscripting eligible men aged 16 to 60 from the border to join the front lines.

Unfortunately, you happen to be within the eligible age range for military conscription.

Finally, after your father's unsuccessful attempt to amend the conscription list, and under the reluctant gazes of your parents, you donned your military uniform and boarded a land-based ship, heading towards the front lines.

Along the way, you chatted happily with a group of new recruits of similar age who had never been to battle. When you passed the enormous statue of the Witch King of Letania, you sang the Letanian national anthem together, heading towards the battlefield with excitement and anticipation.

[Those of you who dreamed of becoming heroes had no idea what kind of hell on earth you were about to enter.]

[In just one day, under the fierce counterattack of the Gallic soldiers, only eleven men, including you, survived in your recruit company.]

Facing the final charge of the Gallic army, you faced death without flinching, raising the flag of Letania high, ready to fight the Gauls to the death.

But perhaps it was luck, or perhaps the previous casualties were too great, when you raised your banner, the Gallic army thought you were launching another counterattack, and so they retreated.

[And it was precisely because of this unexpected event that you were fortunate enough to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements.]

Having survived a brutal battle, you were assigned to another legion. The viscount greatly admired your outstanding performance on your first battlefield experience and specially arranged a new position for you.

[The flag bearer.]

This is an extremely dangerous military unit.

Not only will you be charging ahead with the army, but as the leader of the unit, you must always hold the flag high. Your means of self-defense are extremely limited, and you are very likely to become a target for concentrated fire.

[But the dangers for the standard-bearer go far beyond this.]

The flag bearer not only has to charge ahead, but also has another responsibility: to supervise the battle.

When the vanguard of an army suffers heavy casualties, causing morale to waver and soldiers in the rear to begin deserting, the standard-bearer, positioned in the center of the unit, must use a loud voice to quell the deserters and restore the morale of the troops.

Otherwise, without soldiers protecting you, you'll be the next one killed.

Furthermore, if the situation becomes too dire, the flag bearer supervising the battle might even face trampling by friendly forces, or attacks from comrades who, desperate to survive, resort to violence.

But you still resolutely accepted this dangerous position.

In the ensuing, equally brutal battles, countless Leitanian armies were routed and annihilated, but you, in the most vulnerable position, miraculously survived.

[Perhaps it was your fearless act of charging ahead that inspired everyone. Or perhaps your voice truly possesses some kind of magical power to move people.]

Whether they are new recruits terrified by fear or deserters already gripped by terror, they will all be roused by your inspiring battle cry and fearless spirit, launching a desperate charge alongside you.

Your valiant performance quickly earned you the Viscount's appreciation.

[Shortly afterward, at the end of a battle, your viscount personally awarded you a medal—a First Class medal—in the trenches.]

This signifies that you are a hero in the military, an honor worthy of respect from any soldier, officer, or even nobleman.

After two years of fighting, this war, which had swept across four countries, finally ended with the fall of Gaul and the victories of Victoria, Ursus, and Letania.

Having earned a first-class medal on the battlefield, you returned home as a hero with the army.

And your parents have been eagerly awaiting your return.

That day, your mother embraced you with tears of joy, and your usually taciturn father, unusually, ruffled your hair, looking at you, tanned even darker from the battlefield and with an even more capable air, and praised you with tears in his eyes, "Well done!" In your hometown, you also became a household name and a hero.

The administrators of the mobile city not only received you personally, but also publicized your heroic deeds throughout the city and even throughout Letania, seemingly wanting the Witch King in the tower to see how much he valued the heroes of Letania.

But this period of peace did not last long; a sudden piece of news shocked the entire nation of Letania.

The Witch King is dead.

The mysterious twin queens personally defeated the Witch King, whose corpse fell from the tower, marking the complete end of his reign on this day.

[The first policy the Gemini Queens implemented after ascending the throne was to promise their supporters, the Electors, that they would purge the remaining loyalists of the Witch King.]

From a political perspective, the Gemini Queen's move is perfectly reasonable. Her first priority upon assuming power is naturally to consolidate her position and win over as many supporters as possible.

But ultimately, they are merely "weapons" created by the emperor. Politically reliant on the support of the electors, they are unaware that a seemingly correct decree, as it passes through layers of government and reaches the grassroots, can be distorted into something entirely different.

What was supposed to be a purge of the Witch King's loyalists turned into a massive tragedy within days, a struggle to determine "who the Witch King's true loyalists are."

[And unfortunately, when the decree was issued, in order to incentivize officials to work harder, the Twin Queens specifically stipulated a strategy where officials' bonuses would be determined by the number of loyalists of the Witch King captured.]

This prompted the officials of the mobile city to intensify their arrests of any suspected "Witch King loyalists" for their own benefit. This included not only members of the nobility but also large numbers of commoners, and even anyone who had expressed fanatical views about the Witch King.

Furthermore, to avoid appeals, the executioners allowed guards to carry out the executions of the arrested "remnants of the Witch King" immediately, resulting in the deaths of countless innocent Letanians.

[And you, whether it's the "loyal subject of the Witch King" and your heroic deeds that the city lord has so lavishly proclaimed, or your father who became a government official based on his declaration of loyalty to the Witch King, all of this makes it impossible for you to avoid this disaster.]

"Bang bang bang!!"

"Open the door! We are guards on official duty! If you do not open the door, we will take coercive measures!"

At home, with his political official dismissed from his post, the father, knowing a crisis was imminent, silently smoked, remaining unmoved by the loud knocking at the door.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, the mother almost immediately embraced Chen Qi, protecting her son who was a head taller than her.

“…Child, come here, Daddy has something to tell you.”

Knowing that turmoil was unavoidable, your father called you to his side and handed you a package wrapped in cloth.

"Child, this is what we've gathered for you; it's the last bit of resources we have at home."

“These past few days, I’ve dug a tunnel under the stove. After we open the door, you can escape through there and go to the slums. There, I’ve made the last little preparations for you.”

"What about you, Mom and Dad?"
You asked with extreme unease, as if you had sensed something from your father's eyes.

"No, I want to be with you! I can kill those guards and take you, Mom and Dad, away!"

[The words had barely left your mouth when you were met with a slap from your father. You covered your burning cheek, staring blankly at him, utterly bewildered.]

“We are Leitanians for generations! When you fight on the front lines, you are fighting for the Leitanians!”

"It is now Letania... no, it is the Twin Queens who have betrayed Letania's heroes! But we cannot be like them, understand, children!"

The father gripped Chen Qi's shoulders tightly, his cloudy eyes filled with expectation—just like when he saw you just after you were born.

"You must live, child, live to change Letania, and don't let the heroes' blood be shed in vain."

“We don’t expect you to overthrow their rule… but at least, witness their destruction for us! Let them see how true Leitanians defend their homeland!”

"boom!"

[The father's words had barely faded when the loud banging on the door finally broke the silence. You all knew that time was running out.]

Your parents didn't say anything more, they just nudged you towards the stove, and you understood their intentions, tears welling in your eyes as you obeyed their wishes.

[And just as you entered the tunnel leading to the stove, you could still hear your parents' last voices coming from the living room...]

"Long live Letania!"

[…In the end, all sound fell silent.]

You've forgotten how you escaped to the slums.

But you clearly remember your parents' final convictions as they bravely faced their deaths.

You now fully understand who you should be rebelling against.

Perhaps the tyrannical Witch King deserves to be overthrown, or perhaps the Twin Queens are on the right side... But on this day, having experienced all of this, you are utterly forced onto a path that contradicts "right."

You will not betray Letania.

But you will overturn Letania in your own way.

At that moment, you remembered your childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

Despite the many setbacks, you know that your dream has not been shattered.

Because you will be the first "doctor" to "perform surgery" on the country of Letania.

Blood, words, blades… all the power that can protect this nation will be transformed in your hands into a scalpel, piercing the hearts of those high-ranking officials who witness all this tragedy yet do nothing!

[You must let the shadow of "fear" forever hang over the twin queens, and make them pay the price for the pain they have inflicted upon themselves.]

The moment you make up your mind, you feel an indescribable sense of release—a feeling of being truly yourself, free from all worries.

The demon has awakened.

...Okay, another hellish start.

Looking at the preview of the simulation that had finally ended, Chen Qi's only thought was to open Zhihu (a Chinese Q&A website) and ask netizens for help.

Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Letania, just arrived in the slums, and my goal is to overthrow the country. How should I do it?
(End of this chapter)