[In your slumber, you absorb the energy of the surrounding stars. The neighboring star systems gradually collapse, turning into fine motes of light that surge towards you, creating a wondrous spectacle in the cosmos—]
[An infinite number of light motes flow from the surrounding systems into the Jarilo system, forming a brilliant vortex of light.]
[This brilliant vortex is slowly expanding, and the number of destroyed star systems increases with the passage of time...]
[Your all-stats have been boosted from absorbing energy. All stats +1.]
[Your all-stats...]
[Your...]
Staring at the endless stream of notifications on the screen, Ron lay paralyzed on his bed. After a long silence, he suddenly flew into a rage and began frantically poking the screen in front of him. But the screen merely rippled with light; the grayed-out display remained unaffected by his taps. A warning box promptly popped up:
[Currently in "Observer Mode." The player cannot perform any actions at this time.]
Ron rolled his eyes at the pop-up and proceeded to roll around on his bed, hugging his pillow.
"Ugh, someone kill me, just kill me already... Don't make me play in observer mode anymore!!"
After a good while, Ron released the poor, innocent, soft pillow. He tossed the now-wrinkled and crumpled thing aside and lay sprawled on the bed, staring blankly at the dense text on the screen, lost and dejected.
He was now well and truly out of options.
Being in observer mode meant that Ron had absolutely no way of influencing anything in this simulation.
While his simulated self still had some sanity left, he had used every means at his disposal to guide his evolution in the weakest possible direction. He had even sent a message via the fast-traveling Trailblaze followers on the Astral Express, telling them to find the Xianzhou Alliance.
He had done everything he could under the circumstances to push events in a direction unfavorable to himself.
Theoretically, he should have achieved his goal quickly, been easily hunted by the Xianzhou Alliance, and vanished like a flash in the pan, a brief but brilliant cosmic firework.
That way, he could finally close this failed run and start a new game, instead of being dragged along in this torment...
But he had severely underestimated himself.
Even after choosing the weakest "Charm" evolutionary path, his simulated self could, merely by sleeping, destroy surrounding star systems, drawing all their energy towards him like a black hole, devouring everything around him except for Jarilo-VI...
With every star's worth of energy he devoured, all his stats increased by one. Although it was a drop in the ocean compared to his already sky-high attribute panel, if this continued, he would eventually close the gap on all his non-Charm stats, and his Charm would break through to an unimaginable level.
What would he be then? A new [Immortality] or a new [Beauty]?
The Path of [The Immortality] was fractured by [The Propagation] and thus difficult to inherit, but [The Beauty], Idrila, had vanished suddenly and was most likely deceased. The Path of [The Beauty] was unclaimed. With his Charm stat breaking through the roof, Ron might actually have a tiny chance of usurping [The Beauty]'s position...
But that was just too absurd!
Ron rubbed his temples in frustration. What was the Xianzhou doing? Why hadn't they come to kill him after a whole year had passed in the simulation?
If he kept absorbing energy like this and became an Aeon, wouldn't this save file completely crash the entire Life Simulation Game?
In all of observable history, the fall of an Aeon was a major event. It didn't happen often; it was a momentous occasion that might not occur for thousands, even tens of thousands of years...
Aside from Aeons like Idrila of [The Beauty] and Akivili of [The Trailblaze] who suddenly disappeared and died, other Aeons were incredibly difficult to kill...
Take Tayzzyronth of [The Propagation], for example. When it died, it was besieged by numerous other Aeons. Even then, it didn't die immediately. Its death was caused by abandoning its own Path and suffering the resulting backlash.
If the Ron in this simulation really became an Aeon, and he was stuck in observer mode, then he could just sit there and wait to die of old age.
The lifespan of his simulated self would be unimaginable. His real self would probably die before the simulation even ended. He'd just be stuck here, watching his simulated self play a game of happy cosmic vacuum cleaner...
Ron sighed helplessly as the text on the screen vanished, replaced by new entries:
[You have absorbed energy from the surrounding stars. The blessing of [The Abundance] glitters on your body. The leftover energy residue, under the influence of the blessing, has transformed into new plant seeds and fallen onto Jarilo-VI.]
[The citizens of the empire believe this to be a boon from you. Their faith in you has deepened.]
[You have absorbed energy from the surrounding stars. The blessing of [The Abundance] glitters on your body. The leftover energy residue, under the influence of the blessing, has transformed into new, docile creatures and descended upon Jarilo-VI.]
[The citizens of the empire believe this to be a boon from you. Their faith in you has deepened.]
[You have absorbed energy from the surrounding stars... Your energy absorption has failed.]
[A peculiar defensive barrier has enveloped Jarilo-VI, blocking all the light and fire surging towards you.]
[Special cables of light have shot out from behind the veil of scattered stardust, binding you tightly in place. The power of the Path of [The Hunt] surges through them, ceaselessly eroding your scales.]
[A warship the size of a star emerges from the dark cosmos. Your nose catches the sweet fragrance of the blessing of [The Abundance], stirring your primal instincts of greed and hunger.]
[You open your eyes and see the exquisite, giant ecological warship not far away. You gently begin to move your draconic body.]
Reading this, Ron's spirits immediately lifted.
This was clearly the handiwork of the Xianzhou Alliance. Although Ron didn't know why it took them a whole year to get here, their arrival before he actually turned into an Aeon was a victory in itself.
This simulation was finally about to end...
Ron let out a sigh of relief.
Although he didn't know which Xianzhou ship had arrived, the description "the size of a star" was enough to give him confidence. A starskiff of this size, though only as large as a planet, contained countless Grotto-Heavens, folding an unimaginably vast space within it.
If all the folded space within this starskiff were unfurled, it would likely be larger than one or two star systems combined.
A ship of this size could only be one of the few well-developed and problem-free Xianzhou ships—like the flagship of the Alliance, the Luofu, or the valiant and battle-hardened Yaoqing.
To first cut off his supply line by sealing off the entire system with a barrier, then launching a sneak attack to bind him and prevent his escape...
Eliminating all potential problems first—such a meticulous and foolproof style of operation...
This had to be the work of the Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan.
After all, he was a general who sought to seize every tiny advantage on the battlefield... Jing Yuan was just that cautious. If this had been the Xianzhou Yaoqing, the Cloud Knights would probably already be charging in, shouting battle cries...
Ron propped up his chin, his interest piqued, feeling a great sense of anticipation. He was just short of holding up a little sign that read "Go Xianzhou!"
"You can do it, Jing Yuan! Bring the Cloud Knights and crush me! I've always had faith in your strength. If you beat me, I'll acknowledge you as the Number 1 Main DPS in HSR!"
Ron cheered silently, watching as the text on the screen faded and a new image appeared:
Strange ships, shaped like elongated, twisted tree seeds, poured out from the Xianzhou one after another. Starskiffs, like a swarm of bees leaving the hive, filled half the star system in an instant.
And just like a swarm of bees, they charged madly towards Ron, one after another crashing into his body, sacrificing themselves in an attempt to pierce his scales.
One starskiff couldn't do it, nor could two... but with hundreds, thousands, even a true dragon of [The Immortality] would eventually have a scale pried loose.
One by one, Ron's scales were knocked off by the starskiffs, successfully opening a small, soft gap in his defenses, unprotected by scales.
At that moment, the light cables binding Ron flared with violent lightning. The thunder consolidated into long spikes that slammed into the small gap where his scales had been pried off, anchoring themselves firmly in place.
The Xianzhou, which had been observing from a distance, went to full throttle, parting the ethereal cloud waves as it rushed to Ron's side...
A folded Grotto-Heaven opened in an instant, and the Xianzhou made official contact with Ron's body. Standing on the land within the Grotto-Heaven, one could see Ron's colossal dragon form nearby, see the wound where his scales had been pried off, now pinned by the thunder spikes...
A dense army of soldiers, like a thick layer of blue-white clouds, poured out of the Grotto-Heaven. The power of the Path of [The Hunt] surged within each of them. It was clear that these were all Cloud Knights, all Pathstriders of [The Hunt], without exception.
At their head, a man with a lazy disposition carried a guandao at his side, leading the Cloud Knights in a steady advance towards Ron's wound.
His white hair was tied back, but loose strands covered his eyes, failing to conceal the brilliant gold within.
Jing Yuan slowly walked on air, approaching Ron's wound. Lightning flashed on his guandao, and the gold in his eyes lit up like a lamp, flaring with majestic brilliance.
The lazy air around him vanished in an instant. Behind him, a massive phantom of the Lightning-Lord, nearly half the size of Ron himself, materialized, striking in unison with his blade—
A vast torrent of lightning shook the heavens and the earth. The lightning, which covered nearly half the star system, condensed into a single point in an instant. If it truly struck Ron's body, even in his current state, he would be split in two, becoming a sundered dragon corpse, right?
But the simulated Ron watched all of this with cold eyes, as if he were not the one whose scales were being pried off, who was bound in place, facing the mighty Cloud Knights and the glorious spirit. He proudly raised his head—
And then, a breath of infinite starlight spewed forth.
The image on the screen faded, and new text appeared:
[The Xianzhou Luofu has launched a meticulously prepared hunt against you.]
[Faced with a Progeny of Abundance such as yourself, no one dared to act rashly. Following the predictions and calculations of the Divination Commission's Fu Xuan, the Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan made the most prudent choice. They used the safest and most stable plan against you, intending to hunt you down successfully.]
[But faced with Jing Yuan's finishing blow, you merely let out a breath and fought the thunder-wreathed Lightning-Lord to a standstill, completely neutralizing the attack.]
[Countless Cloud Knights swarmed in like a sky-blotting cloud bank, but their cloud-forged blades could not reach you. They fought endlessly against the tentacles that suddenly sprouted from your body, only able to watch helplessly as scales slowly grew back over your wound, and it gradually healed...]
[The hunt has reached a complete stalemate.]
Staring at the text, Ron's expression froze.
When he first saw the scene playing out, he had been ecstatic. As expected of the Divine Foresight General! The Luofu were master hunters! A mere Progeny of Abundance should be an easy catch, right?
But how did the result become so absurd? With that unstoppable momentum, shouldn't he have been sliced in half with a single blow?
Jing Yuan-yuan, quick, think of something with that invincible Mr. Lightning-Lord of yours!
Ron screamed internally, unaware that on the other side, someone else was having the exact same thought...