CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 95: STRATEGY SET! INTELLIGENCE REINSTATED TO OCCUPY THE HIGH GROUND

This is my white moonlight. Other people’s white moonlight is tender and easy to push down, but mine is a peerless warrior who can annihilate the nine heavens. Any riffraff that gets in the way can just die before their goddess!

Chen Pingchuan’s muttering was directed at either himself or Xia Qingxue; he wasn’t sure which. What a pity. With this little stunt of hers, the parasitic seed I left in the crippled Black Demon’s body is completely useless. His expression was one of helplessness.

Logically, I should have been able to resurrect in that body after a day. Even without a human form, a Black Demon’s body would have been fine. At least I could have seen what the outside world was like. However, Xia Qingxue’s insane rampage wiped out almost all life on the planet’s surface. It wouldn’t have mattered if I had left ten thousand backup plans instead of just one. It was still useless since there were no living creatures left standing.

At this thought, Chen Pingchuan’s brows furrowed sharply as a wave of unease washed over him. He had just remembered another piece of extremely bad news.

His lips moved slightly as he murmured to himself.

If I remember correctly, when Xia Qingxue was holding my body, she told me to wait for her for ten years. In ten years, she would have full authority over Celestial Palace No. 1 and become the supreme leader of the Mechanical Faction. At that time...

Chen Pingchuan didn’t dare to think any further.

Based on Xia Qingxue’s personality in the simulations, if I truly tried to rely on our relationship to change this world, what would happen in ten years? Perhaps she would listen to my suggestions to improve the lives of the lower class, but how would she treat me? Would she obediently follow my lead and spend her life with me? That’s the best-case scenario, of course, but given her personality, the chances are slim. It’s far more likely that the scenario she tearfully described would come to pass. She would imprison any woman who had ever been intimate with me in the Dark Hell.

He vividly remembered the Dark Hell from last year’s simulation. During the war where Celestial Palace City sought to annihilate the City of No Night, the minor boss sent to capture him and Xia Qingxue had mentioned it. Eternal exile to the Dark Hell was Celestial Palace No. 1’s ultimate punishment for traitors. No matter how he thought about it, that place was definitely not somewhere he wanted anyone to go.

If Xia Qingxue went completely crazy and imprisoned every single woman I have a connection with in the Dark Hell, what would I even do?

Cold sweat beaded on Chen Pingchuan’s forehead. He was startled by his own speculation. I can’t know for sure if this would happen, but even if there’s only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I can’t afford to gamble on it. It’s better to keep my life firmly in my own hands.

After completing a few warm-up stretches, Chen Pingchuan finally snapped out of his daze. The first thing he did upon recovering was pick up a chair, place it by his desk, and plop down into it. He gazed at the familiar night sky outside his window, pondering his future. Perhaps I was transmigrated here for a special mission.

He started to miss the days of shooting the breeze with his friends. I wonder how that fatty Guo Yihang is doing. And the badass Brother Dafu, my landlady Huang Yujia, my new underling Liu Yaowu, and the owner of the breakfast shop... I wonder how they all are.

A wave of melancholy washed over Chen Pingchuan. The people at the bottom can’t break through the barriers set by the upper class, and they lead precarious lives. A single experiment by the elite could completely upend their existence. Even though I was partly responsible for this disaster, another one would have eventually happened anyway.

Amidst the sadness, Chen Pingchuan’s resolve hardened.

I’m going to be the one to change this fucked-up world!

Although his goal was set, Chen Pingchuan was no longer the same person who had been missing a few screws. He had at least recovered one of the missing pieces of his mind.

He picked up the backpack he had tossed beside the desk, unzipped it, and took out several notebooks. He chose one with a cool mecha-style cover to use as his journal. After a year, Chen Pingchuan picked up a black pen and began to write.

He swiftly wrote the first line on the paper.

Step one: Clarify the goal.

"I have been in this cyberpunk-esque otherworld for four years. I originally thought I would live an unremarkable and mediocre life, just like my last one. But a year ago, my life changed. I obtained my golden finger: the Apocalypse Redemption Simulator. With its help, my strength is slowly growing. Although I don’t have the insane luck of other transmigrators, nor the power to shatter heavens and earth, I am still quite satisfied.

"At first, my only goal was to survive. Later, as the number of simulations increased, I developed more desires. I wanted to live a good life. And after that, a new desire emerged: to let more people at the bottom, people like me, live a good life as well.

"How can I change the world and let everyone live well?"

After drawing a large question mark, Chen Pingchuan wrote four large characters heavily beneath the question.

Goal: Get Stronger!

He stared blankly at the bold characters, which stood out sharply from the smaller text, for a few seconds before continuing to write.

Step two: Gather information.

Having lived through the information explosion, Chen Pingchuan was keenly aware of the importance of information in life and in war. His ancestors had proven with their blood the truth that knowing oneself and one’s enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles, and their descendants were no less capable, skillfully using information asymmetry for financial exploitation.

"My knowledge of this world is far too limited, which makes it easy for me to fall into an information cocoon, like a trapped beast, utterly unaware of my own predicament. Xia Qingxue’s actions this time prove that Celestial Palace No. 1 alone can carry out a plan to cleanse the planet without anyone else’s consent. So, what about its rival, the Blood Beast Alliance? Do they also possess the ability to destroy the world? And what about the faction that can override them both, the Genetic Warrior faction, represented by the Great Ming Empire’s Royal Family? Do they also wield world-destroying power?"

Chen Pingchuan once again directed ruthless sarcasm at his past self.

"Though there were reasons, my past self was truly a handsome piece of trash. It’s infuriating just thinking about it."

There was a lot of information to confirm. Chen Pingchuan made a few brief notes in his journal, such as the range of the red rain. Was it confined to Kailing Province, or did it encompass the entire world? Based on what he knew, it was unlikely that even an expert of Ji Hongxiu’s caliber could conduct such an inhumane experiment on a global scale. Therefore, it was highly probable that the red rain only fell within Kailing Province. Of course, he would need to verify this suspicion himself.

After jotting down some simple notes, Chen Pingchuan moved on to the third step.

Step three: Formulate an execution plan.

"There are two ways to get stronger: one is the enhancement of my own strength, and the other is support from external forces."

As for his own strength, he just needed to keep running simulations to acquire endless talents and items. Reflecting on the appearance of the Profound Heaven-rank Armor—Wrath—in the last simulation, he could deduce that even more powerful items might appear in the future. As for why Wrath couldn’t defeat Xia Qingxue’s Valkyrie, that was easy to understand. Wrath was only part of a divine-grade armor set, whereas Xia Qingxue was being groomed to be the future Palace Master of Celestial Palace No. 1. Her armor was naturally going to be powerful. Besides, hadn’t he already dismembered the Dark Guard Leader, Blue Demon, in a simulation? That proved the armor wasn’t the problem; he just hadn’t run enough simulations. But it didn’t matter. Others might be hindered by advancement bottlenecks, but not him. With the simulator, he would only get stronger and stronger.

As for support from external forces, this could also be divided into two types. One was cultivating his own forces, like the Mechanical Resistance Army in the simulations.

"Though their combat power is at a rock-bottom level, their loyalty... eh..."

Thinking of Markel’s face, Chen Pingchuan let out a bitter laugh.

"The loyalty isn’t that great either," he continued writing. "Unless I invest significant effort into nurturing them, there might be an unexpected payoff. Relying on others doesn’t seem feasible."

Regarding the final option of joining an existing faction, Chen Pingchuan stroked the stubble on his chin. Currently, the known overt factions are: Celestial Palace No. 1, centered on mechanical life; the Blood Beast Alliance, centered on beast companions; and the official Great Ming faction, centered on genetic enhancement. The corresponding figures are Xia Qingxue, Ji Hongxiu, and the loli City Lord. Pass! He immediately dismissed the thought, not daring to even contemplate it. As for the Holy Spirit Sect, the Blood Beast Alliance probably spared them out of respect for Ji Hongxiu’s recent promotion.

Soon, the journal entry reached its final step.

Chen Pingchuan wrote five words in a larger script.

"Risks and Preparations!"