Chapter 21: Nightmare Trial, the Correct Path to Awakening!

『Day 1, doomsday arrived right on schedule, and you chose Aobo Community as your doomsday spawn point… The food reserves at home were limited; although the news urged people to stay calm and not panic-buy, Chen Keqing trusted her own judgment, dragged you out shopping, yet the crowd grabbing supplies was huge, and you only managed to grab a handful of vegetables.』

『Day 2, the temperature plummeted; although it was miserably cold outside, Chen Keqing still wanted to drag you out for food… You accompanied her but returned empty-handed; Chen Keqing was quite angry, so you comforted her, saying that as long as you had a bite to eat you would never let her starve, and your sincerity moved her…』

『Day 3, all kinds of horrifying news spread; Chen Keqing panicked inside but outwardly kept an optimistic attitude… She reorganized all the food at home; even rationing strictly it would only last 3 days; fortunately the complex found supplies, and you bought some food at a high price.』

『Day 4, water and power were cut; you acted like a sly fox and deliberately watched Chen Keqing bustle about…』

『Day 5, many refugees entered the Safe Zone, the complex organized manpower to help them, and you watched coldly』

『Day 6, Chen Keqing’s housewife skills maxed out; she built a wood-fired pot at home and cooked two hot meals; when she said she wanted to steal the neighbor’s gas cylinder, you found her adorable… You slept together.』

『Day 7, you brought back a gas cylinder and installed it on your own stove; Chen Keqing was delighted… To celebrate being able to eat hot food, you rolled in the sheets.』

『Day 8, an Awakener appeared in the complex…』

Su Ze read the simulation log and could not help but chuckle.

Seriously…

Was the simulated self testing Chen Keqing?

It was like a rich father pretending the family was destitute to cultivate his children’s resilience.

Hmm…

Exactly the kind of stunt he would pull.

“Speaking of which, this simulation features only Chen Keqing …”

Su Ze showed a thoughtful look.

He had only met Chen Keqing last night.

Yet when he started the simulation, she immediately appeared in the log.

That meant the simulation actually covered events from the few days before doomsday.

Because he had already planned to “bag” Chen Keqing, she appeared in the simulation…

By the same token, Prince Xin had mentioned a beauty today and he had been tempted as well.

Even though he had not met her, he had already begun preparations to “bag” her.

Yet this so-called beauty did not appear in the simulation.

Therefore, the most probable answer was…

That bastard Prince Xin had fed him bogus intel.

The so-called beauty probably did not exist at all…

『Day 9, panic spread inside the Safe Zone; someone gave a speech to calm the populace… You and Chen Keqing went to watch the Awakener together, and she sighed that the man must have unlocked his gene lock.』

『Day 10, bad news kept coming yet no one knew what was true; with the Awakener’s help, security and order in the complex barely held』

『Day 11, incidents of moral collapse inside the complex erupted in succession; you deliberately frightened Chen Keqing, telling her never to go out… Taking the advice to heart, Chen Keqing decided to stay indoors and no longer show her face.』

『Day 12, the number of Awakeners in the Safe Zone increased; you began systematically gathering intelligence, determined to confirm at least one reliable way to become an Awakener…』

『Day 13, you continued gathering intel』

『Day 14, the number of Awakeners kept rising; you quietly compiled information… At Chen Keqing’s inquiry, you shared part of what you had learned about Awakeners and asked whether she wanted to try becoming one; fearing death, she refused.』

『Day 15, the Awakener population kept growing, and some of them grew restless』

『Day 16, Awakeners clashed and several people died』

『Day 17, an Awakener came to abduct Chen Keqing, terrifying her… You struck calmly, fire incinerated the intruder; although controlling the flames drained you greatly, you paired it skillfully with the Fallen Benefaction Talent, and as long as you kept killing enemies you could use the Talent to restore your stamina and keep going indefinitely. Chen Keqing worshipped the strength you displayed.』

『Day 18, you became famous after a single battle; by popular vote you became the leader of this Safe Zone… You immediately announced the method to become an Awakener and encouraged more people to do so.』

『Day 19, many attempted to awaken and the death toll surged; you seized the chance to gather intel, constantly refining the path to Awakening』

『Day 20, you acted decisively and eliminated some of your opponents』

『Day 21, you rewarded and punished clearly and kept order in the Safe Zone as peaceful as usual』

『Day 22, the danger of Awakening was too great; volunteers dwindled, but luckily you had gathered enough information… Now you were confident you could help others achieve a 100% success rate in Awakening.』

『Day 23, you explained the route to Awakening to Chen Keqing, with conditions exactly as you knew… spell, contact with the pollution source, and passing the nightmare trial… The key lay in the nightmare trial; you knew that trials generated by the same Contaminated Zone were nearly identical, so by telling Chen Keqing the contents you could help her awaken easily.』

『Day 24, …』

Information on becoming an Awakener… seemed to crystallize at this moment.

It matched Su Ze’s previous conjectures.

Every Contaminated Zone could be regarded as a dungeon in a game.

The dungeon might have minor variations, but the core content hardly changed.

Therefore, if someone possessed enough intel and was generous enough to make it public, then, theoretically, Awakeners could be mass-produced…

“But in practice, that’s probably not easy.”

“There are so many Contaminated Zones and each one is different; even figuring out the nightmare trial of a single zone isn’t easy, since many Awakeners forget their dreams once they wake.”

One could imagine how hard his simulated self had worked to piece together complete intel.

To make it concrete, if the nightmare trial lasted 60 minutes, an Awakener might remember only 3 minutes after waking.

Even without counting overlaps, Su Ze would have to investigate at least 20 Awakeners’ experiences to assemble a complete picture…

In practice he also had to consider whether others were willing to cooperate and tell the truth.

Only because Su Ze possessed the Father God Listens Talent could he, unlike someone else, clarify the whole story within just a few days; otherwise it would have been almost impossible.

“So, why… can’t I become an Awakener?”

Su Ze inhaled sharply, a trace of helplessness on his face.

However, he had already let it go.

He no longer obsessed over becoming an Awakener.

As long as he had power enough to crush Awakeners, the sky would still be bright.

『Day 26, with order in the Safe Zone extremely stable, you once again asked Chen Keqing whether she wanted to become an Awakener… She declined, because she was afraid of dying…』