Chapter 14: Keqing’s grades were far from ideal…

The simulator entered a 10-minute cooldown.

The reward options from the most recent simulation round were equally disappointing.

They were nothing but low-grade Talents and a bit of useful intel.

Su Ze certainly would not waste his chance to choose a reward on such low-value options.

“Should I pick another Safe Zone as my spawn point…?”

During the cooldown, Su Ze considered whether he should change his “spawn point”.

In the current Safe Zone he had chosen, order had collapsed at a frightening speed.

If he switched to a different Safe Zone, the situation might improve somewhat.

Just like on the first day he simulated, that other Safe Zone had enjoyed much better order…

“Bzzz!”

His phone suddenly vibrated with a new message.

Su Ze snapped back to reality, glanced at the screen, and saw that it was from Chen Keqing.

When he had walked her home a moment ago, she had asked for his contact info, saying she wanted to bring him a silk banner in thanks.

Su Ze had modestly replied that there was no need to repay kindness with vengeance…

Back to the present.

The message from Chen Keqing was just another expression of gratitude.

She also wanted to confirm the time with Su Ze.

If Su Ze worked his usual shift at the convenience store tomorrow night, she would drop by after class to deliver a small gift as thanks…

“A gift? That’s unnecessary…”

If Chen Keqing tied herself up and stuffed herself into a box, Su Ze would gladly sign for that kind of present.

That would also spare him the trouble of picking up girls before doomsday.

“Come to think of it, I was about to buy something just now, but I completely forgot…”

Chen Keqing sent another message.

She looked like an icy beauty, yet she turned out to be quite the chatterbox.

The gift story seemed to have been nothing but an excuse.

She naturally shifted the topic to something else.

And she kept talking nonstop.

Su Ze could actually understand her; after all, the man she was chatting with was a total hunk…

Unfortunately.

The Father God Listens Talent could not eavesdrop on someone’s thoughts through a phone.

Otherwise, this conversation might have been even more interesting…

“I really wanted to get into Su University, but I didn’t score well, so I can only attend the school next door…”

The topic kept expanding.

However, Su Ze had already learned a lot of this through her inner voice earlier.

For instance, the girl’s academic performance was not impressive.

The cool top-student image was merely an outsider’s misconception.

And she did not want her classmates to know her parents had passed away; that toughness was only a façade.

In reality, she cried quietly under the covers every night…

Finally realizing she had talked too much while Su Ze’s replies were sparse, Chen Keqing sheepishly ended the chat…

Su Ze was not that harsh.

Even if he was distracted by chatting with Chen Keqing a bit longer, it did not matter.

After all, he was already multitasking by watching the store…

『The simulator cooldown has ended…』

Just in time, the cooldown was over, so Su Ze wasted no time and started the simulation again.

『Apocalypse Simulation has begun…』

『Please choose one of the following three Talents as your inherent Talent for this simulation!』

『1. Food Baron (blue): you excel at improving and ripening plants; crops that normally need 3 months to mature can be ready in 10 days, but each use of the Talent consumes energy.』

『2. Deer Hunter (white): you are skilled with bow and arrow and can hit moving targets; without you, the audience would skip the Olympics.』

『3. Lightning Superhuman (blue): you can freely manipulate bio-electricity, allowing you to invent various lightning-based offensive techniques, which can make you very powerful.』

Two blue Talents had appeared…

And judging from the descriptions, they both looked pretty good.

Food Baron was more of a team-oriented Talent.

In a Safe Zone with relatively good order, having such a Talent holder could greatly ease the pressure on food supplies.

Of course, a Talent holder like that would also be treated as a treasure by the Safe Zone.

However.

Su Ze had no intention of becoming a Safe Zone’s treasure.

Compared with this kind of life-type Talent, he now wanted direct combat power.

The third Talent was obviously a combat Talent.

He picked it without hesitation…

『Inherent Talent “Lightning Superhuman (blue)” selected.』

『Simulation start…』

『Day 1: Doomsday arrived on schedule; you chose the safe house in Aobo Community as your starting point for the journey, and Chen Keqing accompanied you.』

『Day 2: Temperatures plummeted, terrifying rumors flew around the complex group chat, Chen Keqing grew nervous, so she decided to distract herself by cooking; you acted as her assistant…』

『You marveled at Chen Keqing’s culinary skills…』

Well, well…

Moreover, this simulation clearly differed from the previous one…

As expected, the simulated “you” still chose another Safe Zone as the spawn point, with a few minor changes besides…

『Day 3: The complex organized people to gather supplies; you also received quite a lot, though you had to pay an exorbitant price…』

『Day 4: Power and water were cut; panic rose, yet someone in the complex played music on the balcony, giving the atmosphere an unexpected touch of elegance.』

『Day 5: Many refugees arrived in the Safe Zone; the complex organized owners to donate old clothes and bedding to help them, but progress was slow.』

『Day 6: The city descended into chaos; everyone was on edge; someone in the complex procured a generator, but there was little fuel.』

『Day 7: Chen Keqing took a nasty spill while going downstairs; her ankle swelled badly; you used your Talent to heal her, and she thought it was miraculous.』

『Day 8: You noticed Awakeners appearing in the complex.』

『Day 9: Someone in the Safe Zone gave a speech to steady people’s hearts.』

『Day 10: Official self-rescue news arrived, and many people were devastated.』

『Day 11: The Safe Zone’s moral high ground collapsed; in that single day more than 10 women tried to hit on you.』

『Chen Keqing graciously said you could go if you liked, but you refused because the women were too ugly.』

『Day 12: The number of Awakeners in the Safe Zone increased.』

『Day 13: Chen Keqing again acted magnanimous; you eavesdropped on her thoughts and knew she was only pretending, cleverly assuming you would not fancy those painted vulgar women.』

『Day 14: A beautiful young married woman appeared at your side; Chen Keqing felt a huge sense of crisis and secretly sulked all day.』

『Day 15: The number of Awakeners kept rising; you sensed that some of them harbored ill intent and wanted to wreck the Safe Zone’s current order.』

『Day 16: Awakeners clashed; one person was injured.』

『Day 17: An Awakener coveted Chen Keqing’s looks and spoke rudely; you stopped pretending, revealed your strength, and fried him into a charcoal stick.』

『Day 18: You became famous after a single battle; your deed spread throughout the Safe Zone, and many people nominated you to lead the Safe Zone…』

『You declined but propped up a puppet leader, thus gaining initial control of the Safe Zone.』