My Strange Tale Love Strategy Simulator

"Are you crazy?" the blood-red doll finally asked out of doubt.

She had never met anyone who would eagerly offer to kill her, especially since she actually had a good impression of the person in front of her. These days, people with pure and kind hearts like Zhang Ying were rare.

Zhang Ying didn't flinch in the face of the blood-red doll's questions. He took a half-step forward, his tone exceptionally firm: "Senior, I haven't gone mad, and I'm not lying to you. On the contrary, I genuinely want to help you!"

His tone was so sincere that even the blood-red puppet paused for a moment, finally stopping all its movements and returning to the position of its hands clasped together.

"You say you'll help me, so let me ask you: how are you going to help me? And what can you possibly do to help me?"

Seeing that the blood-red doll had finally given in, Zhang Ying felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. His all-night analysis of the simulator's results hadn't been in vain.

His planned strategy involved two steps.

The first step is to calm Li Ziqing down and make her realize your good intentions, so that she will lower her guard.

This is his understanding of his simulator self, having Li Ziqing teach him to sing. Only when the two of them empathize with each other can they continue with the next part of the strategy.

Zhang Ying took a deep breath. The first step of gambling with his life was complete. The next step was the key to the whole strategy.

After gathering his emotions, Zhang Ying spoke to the blood-red puppet who was willing to listen:

"Senior Li, you must be in a lot of pain, spending each day in agony and anger, feeling resentful about your life and everything you've been through, which constantly washes over you now. I understand your pain."

The surface of the blood-red doll trembled slightly, and a childlike voice exploded in Zhang Ying's ear: "You say I'm in pain, you say you understand, but what can you understand?!"

The pool of blood on Zhang Ying's feet suddenly rose, submerging his ankles. Ripples spread outward from the blood-red doll, causing the entire dance studio to shake violently.

"Have you ever experienced the pain I've gone through? How can you possibly understand the resentment in my heart? I can sense from you that your parents raised you very well, you have a relaxed family environment, close relatives and friends, and you can run wildly down the path you love!"

"And me? I have nothing!"

"I want to be your everything, Senior Li!"

Zhang Ying took another step forward, one hand stroking his chest, the other reaching out towards the blood-red puppet in front of him.

"From the first moment I met you, I wanted to know everything about you. Perhaps it was out of curiosity, perhaps out of fear. After doing some research, I became determined to become your friend. That's why I've come here today!"

Zhang Ying sighed softly.

"Perhaps out of sympathy, or perhaps out of regret, I believe you deserve a better life, instead of becoming a legend in other people's eyes, gradually losing yourself in resentment and anger."

The ripples on the blood lake gradually subsided, the blood-red doll was still trembling, but the dance studio stopped shaking.

"Aren't you... afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid of you." Zhang Ying maintained the gesture of reaching out like a blood-red doll. "If you feel you're wallowing in the pain of having nothing, then I'm willing to be your friend, to be your everything."

"I may not be your only option, but I will definitely be one of them."

The blood-red doll fell silent, and its wooden body stopped trembling.

It twisted its wooden head and stared intently at Zhang Ying's outstretched hand.

After a moment of silence, it stretched out its twisted wooden arm, grabbed Zhang Ying's hand, and pulled him back sharply!

Caught off guard, Zhang Ying fell forward under the sudden pull, about to crash into the blood-red puppet's arms.

The next second, the entire bloody dance studio vanished like an illusion, and Zhang Ying's forehead slammed against the wall, sending a burning pain through him.

He steadied himself, his hand on his forehead. The scene around him had returned to the vocal studio; his experience in the dance studio felt like a dream.

His school uniform was soaked with cold sweat and felt a chill.

Seeing that he had returned to reality, he gasped for breath and looked up at the clock. It was exactly 6 o'clock.

"I... I guess I succeeded?" Zhang Ying wiped the sweat from his forehead and reached into his pocket to grip his phone tightly.

The second step in his strategy was to make himself an option for Li Ziqing, letting Li Ziqing know that he was not without other choices.

For Li Ziqing, who was mired in despair, comforting her would only make her angrier; what was important was to help her get out of despair.

Li Ziqing's despair stemmed from the fact that she had no choice whatsoever. She was constantly pushed along by expectations, only to be ultimately pushed into the abyss that had been predetermined for her.

Already mired in despair, her greatest wish was naturally to have another option. Even if that option led to another abyss, a glimmer of hope would spring from the depths of her heart.

Zhang Yinglai's ultimate goal in coming here was to become Li Ziqing's hope.

To be honest, he was still a little unsure of himself. If things got dangerous, he was prepared to expose the news of his father's arrest to prove his worth.

So now it seems that Li Ziqing is more vulnerable and in greater need of being saved than he thought.

[The Dancer's Ghost Story: Affection level increased to 60%]

[Three special CGs unlocked]

Physical attributes +0.2, sanity +2.

[Mystic Eye Level Upgraded!]

【Strange Eye Lv2】

[Enhanced Dynamic Vision: Activates for 30 minutes, consuming 1 point of sanity. Allows you to see detailed information about monsters of Earthbound Spirit level and below.]

A series of messages popped up on the panel in front of him, and Zhang Ying suddenly felt his heart pounding and a sense of exhaustion welling up from the depths of his brain.

The intense pounding of his heart and the exhaustion of his brain made him lose all interest in the simulator and the ghost stories. All he wanted was to get home quickly, get to bed, and get a good night's sleep.

The door to the vocal studio is no longer just for show; the world behind that door is now completely normal.

Zhang Ying walked out of the campus under the reprimands of the security guards, and almost staggered home. After arriving home, he lay down on the bed without even eating.

Seeing this, Zhang's mother was very worried: "My child is under more and more pressure from studying. I'll buy a chicken and make him some soup tomorrow to nourish him."

As soon as Zhang Ying's head hit the pillow, intense fatigue accompanied by throbbing headaches quickly lulled him into a deep sleep. A surge of heat spread from his heart to every part of his body, and his muscles twitched and spasmed unconsciously, growing violently.

……

The sunlight streaming through the window shone into Zhang Ying's eyes, and he suddenly opened them, his consciousness returning almost instantly.

He got out of bed, a feeling of ease and clarity he had never experienced before, which made his thoughts exceptionally clear.

He stretched languidly on the bed, his spine crackling like firecrackers. The soreness from the stretched muscles made him feel a strange sensation, and he looked at his palms.

His hands, which were originally well-defined, were now covered with thick, blue veins, and the bulging muscles extended all the way up his forearms and into his sleeves.

He hurriedly got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. Looking at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face in the mirror, his eyes were filled with barely suppressed shock.

"This! Is this still me?!"

In the mirror, Zhang Ying's face was not only more refined and well-defined, but his shoulders were also much broader. Lifting his shirt, the muscles in his abdomen and serratus anterior were clearly defined, and his broad back curved outwards and down to his waist.

Originally less than 1.8 meters tall, he was literally raised by five or six centimeters.

Zhang Ying was shocked by the dramatic change in his physique and body shape overnight, and he also realized just how significant the 0.2 increase in physical fitness really was!