Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 8 Reflection

"It failed, it failed, it failed..."

Hunzhen walked down the street with lifeless eyes.

After the simulator changed its mind and killed the attending physician, he went through seven more simulations.

Every action of a simulated human will have subtle changes.

In the first simulation, realizing that it was impossible to contend with the Star Guardians, the simulator came up with another unexpected move: it took direct action on the spaceship and ultimately succeeded in killing everyone on the ship before the chip's explosive function was activated.

However, because the biochip was not removed, the truth was soon revealed, and under the company's remote control, his mind exploded.

No matter how slim the hope, the Sims never gave up their pursuit of life and freedom.

Under Hunzhen's subjective control, the best result was achieved by delaying the simulated human's actions as much as possible.

The simulator chose to play along, intending to control the attending physician instead of killing him, so that he could be removed from the range of the Star Guardian's perception.

This tactic also failed.

The company originally only planned to put the Sims into the arena ahead of schedule, but the Sims chose to die together with their colleagues in an extremely fierce manner.

"No, bro... why are you being so stubborn? Am I really that kind of person? I don't even know it myself!"

Hunzhen was exhausted, so he chose to give up on putting himself in others' shoes, closed the door, and left.

Wandering among the amusement facilities, I somehow couldn't feel much joy.

To be honest, entertainment these past few days has gradually become just a formality.

He thought he simply didn't have any acquaintances or friends, so as a social animal, he couldn't get the satisfaction of social interaction.

So he started looking for companions to pass the time with.

With his impressive assets, generous style, ruthless methods, and extraordinary temperament born from possessing sharp skills, he had garnered countless praises and adoration in the Night City in just a few days.

It has a bit of the feel of an overpowered protagonist from an urban fantasy novel.

However, after the initial novelty wore off, he didn't feel a sense of accomplishment and instead lost interest.

It's like a dragon showing off how big its fingernails are in front of ants... What's the point of that?

But... he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

As a martial artist and as an assassin for the company, many things become readily available.

If this is all an apprentice-level expert can achieve, then imagine the strength of planetary-level, eternal-level, and even higher-level experts.

For a powerful being in the cosmos who can control the fate of all life on a planet with a single thought, even the most advanced forms of entertainment are not difficult to experience.

What should we pursue then?

Hunzhen sat down at a barbecue stall on the street, watching the hovercars speeding past him, enjoying his skewers and drinks, but his expression was inscrutable.

"Dude, are you heartbroken? I've seen you here for an hour, all alone! Slurp. If you ask me, love is no big deal. What's with all the drama about getting dumped by a woman? Goodbye, goodbye, the next one's better! Slurp."

A man's voice reached his ears. Without stopping his skewers, Hunzhen stared unfocused at the brightly lit street, looking like a salted fish that had just been pulled ashore.

He replied to himself, "It's not that I'm heartbroken. I'm just wondering... what exactly is life?"

Thinking about it carefully, to be honest, in terms of material life alone, he is now several times better off than in his previous life.

Every day I can freely change to stay in the most luxurious hotels and eat the kinds of delicious food that I wouldn't have dared to indulge in before.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary employee of a charity company with low income and a busy schedule. He was lucky if he could go two days a week without eating instant noodles, let alone have a decent meal.

Unlike now, where you can have almost anything you want.

If he hadn't been thinking about improving his strength faster and choosing to cause trouble, he could have easily survived until the moment his superiors summoned them.

However, the outcome after that is unlikely to be good; it's just a matter of dying sooner or later.

Given Black Oak Company's track record, these "slaves," especially those at the industry level, should all have been thrown into the fighting arena to make money for the company.

Those who remain at the apprentice level are sent abroad for a period of time, and then quietly end up on the kill list, becoming assassination targets for the next batch of training camp killers. It can be said that they are being used to their fullest potential.

Looking back now, if he hadn't revealed his talent and had taken the latter path, he could have lived another ten or twenty years. If he had been luckier, had been better at hiding his abilities, and had the simulation system, living several decades or even a hundred years longer wouldn't have been a problem.

In theory, you don't need to go out more than a few times each month, and you can basically allocate your time freely.

Compared to her previous life, although she was a slave, she was living a life like that of a paradise.

Over a century, through countless simulations, and with accumulated experience, he broke through from the apprentice level to the domain master level in a short period of time before being killed by the company, thus breaking through the control of the chip. This is also a route with a relatively high success rate.

With the simulation system at his disposal, even over such a long period of time, he has a very high margin for error.

"Huh? Life? What the hell? Slurp! Dude, a day is a day, whether you're happy or unhappy. Don't think about so many things. Stop wallowing in self-pity, are you some kind of poet?!"

Hunzhen looked up and saw a man with a gray, short beard standing in front of him, slurping noodles like crazy.

A glint of something eerie shone in the man's eyes. A dandruff flake fell into his bowl, which he then slurped up with the noodles, chuckling, "Nothing else matters, the only important thing is to be happy, buddy!"

Hunzhen was stunned.

Happy?

Is he happy now?

He is now able to live a life of blissful ease that he once dared to dream of but never dared to hope for.

but……

Everything has changed, yet it seems like nothing has changed.

If he had just been a little more patient and tolerant back then, it would have been a very short period of time in terms of lifespan.

He can also gain his freedom.

But, do you regret it?

In terms of mental age, he is just a young man in his early twenties.

The latest novel is first published here!

Why didn't they choose to remain passive and wait? Instead, they chose to take the initiative and embark on an unknown path.

Honestly, I ask myself: Is the latter's success rate necessarily higher than the former's? In reality, there is no evidence to prove this.

A flash of lightning streaked across my heart.

It turns out that a long, long time ago, in the simulation after his first successful counterattack, his future self had already given him the answer.

Even if it's just one day earlier, even if it costs him his life, he wants to break free from this cage!

If one does not have freedom, if one merely survives, then of course there is no difference from the past, and no fundamental change has occurred.

That doesn't count as living, and it doesn't allow you to say with dignity and without shame, "I was here."

"Freedom? So we're all the same after all. No, we were always one person."

It turns out that deep down, he longed for freedom.

Suddenly, I had a complete and profound understanding.

The reason why the simulated humans have become so fierce is quite simple.

No matter how difficult things were before, there was always a glimmer of hope.

The real threat from the company is unknown, and the unknown is indeed frightening, but it does not lead to despair.

But now the Sims know that without any cheat codes, no matter how much they resist, they probably can't escape death.

While he was enjoying a feast and drowsy while worrying about meaningless things like life, the Sims had no such leisure time.

They've already given it their all just to survive.

Unlike himself, who could easily slack off because of the simulation system, no matter how much he hinted, the simulated people would definitely do their best and not give up any chance of survival.

He couldn't help but lament his own extravagance.

This is an arrogance that cannot be changed, but it doesn't matter; the Sims will take care of it for him.

"Live on."

"Live on."

"Survive!"

Hunzhen kept giving himself psychological suggestions.

He knew that this was enough.

It is precisely because they subconsciously want to give up and become tools for the company to make money that the Sims will choose to perish together with the enemy in despair.

Even so, he fought to the very last moment in every simulation.

So, as long as the will to live is strong enough, even if there's only a sliver of hope, the simulated human will continue on.

Even though their goals are completely opposite, they may end up in the same place.

The Sims themselves were trained to become gladiators in order to gain more combat experience, while the Sims were trained to seek the only chance of survival in the midst of carnage.

"Start simulation."

(End of this chapter)