Chapter 748: Game Start!

"What a shitty turn of events..."

Inside the rented room.

Aaron looked depressed: "I need to take a breather first..."

He had originally thought *Ancient* was a hardcore game with extremely difficult controls, similar to the *Dark Souls* series, perhaps requiring numerous top-tier players to work together to clear it, which was why he debuted under the identity of 'Gun God'...

Who could have imagined...

That the damn *Ancient* was actually just a text-based adventure mini-game?!

No matter how good one's gaming skills are, they are useless; it would be more reliable to find a detective!

【Consumed 1 point of Tower, 1 point of Luminescence... Save file created!】

【The ninth year of the Xian Sect of Daliang, the world is in chaos!】

"Hmph, trying to scare me?"

"Simulator! Activate!"

'Feng Shangfei': "What first chapter? Second chapter?"

No matter how many times you refresh, it's the same!

You can only choose one that is less bad from bad, worse, and the worst!

"I refuse to believe I can't draw a talent without negative effects!"

He knew that the *Ancient* game was a real death game; once the game character created by a player died, the player in reality would also die instantly.

【Datiaosha: You are easily hunted down by others】

"Alas... there is no going back."

"What the...!"

Aaron opened another option.

【Waking up from a midnight dream, you are startled and look at the door of the guest room; you prepare to...】

【Lingering memories echo in your mind; you are born with a 'Great Ominous Fate', abandoned by your parents at birth, and raised by a mother wolf in the wilderness... When you were twelve, a monk from the Rotten Buddha Temple picked you up and brought you back to the temple...】

'Feng Shangfei': "Yes... I heard this game is very interesting, and one can obtain many things from it..."

Aaron's finger hovered over the screen, and a smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Fortunately... I have a Golden Finger."

【Corpse Transformation: After you die, your corpse is prone to becoming a zombie】

"Remember, we are not good people, nor are we bad people; we are just 'players'!"

After all, Spirituality cannot be stored for too long; it is either used for simulation or for improving martial arts.

Aaron's finger slid over 【Great Ominous Fate】 and 【Spirit Touch】... and then, it just stopped there.

"Fine, let's see who's afraid of whom? Draw for me!"

In an instant, he felt the screen in his hand change slightly.

This scene was quite bloody and terrifying, causing the surrounding customers to scream and faint one after another.

After all, if you don't play this game well, people really will die!

Exiting the chat group, Aaron muttered to himself: "There's actually a time limit for playing the game... that's a bit troublesome..."

"If there were 【Financial Ruin】, I would choose it..."

【Drawing complete, please choose one from the following talents as your initial talent!】

Time is tight, making it difficult to obtain more Spirituality for save files.

Aaron glanced at the nicknames of these group members and nodded to himself.

"If I want to imprint the world and complete an influence... how could I not get involved in the extraordinary system?"

Once a 'Evil Spirit' finds you before you have grown up, it is almost a guaranteed death sentence!

By comparison, 【Great Ominous Fate】 is barely acceptable; after all, even ghosts fear those who are ominous, and perhaps this talent has some hidden effect that suppresses Evil Spirits!

"Fine... I just have no other choice."

【Xiongxiong Nanfen: You are born with both yin and yang bodies】

'Xue Nai Meizi': "This is true... if you don't believe me, look..."

"Compatible?"

'Black General': "I remember now... Xiaolaohu bought an invitation code from me before; could it be for you?"

【Cursed: You curse your father and mother, and curse all your relatives and friends】

The save files he created using the Future Simulator were all one-time use; once used, they were gone.

Aaron thought for a moment and typed the three characters 'Feng Shangfei'.

A row of ten talents left Aaron completely baffled on the spot.

【Rotten Buddha Temple】

"Now I know... when choosing talents, don't expect positive ones to appear; being able to pick one that is mediocre is already a stroke of extreme luck."

The phone screen suddenly went black, and then, a withered yellow piece of parchment appeared.

【1. Open the door and go out to take a look.】

【Note 2: You must log in to the game within three days, otherwise the game character will die due to loss of consciousness!】

Aaron sighed.

"I can probably trigger the plot by going out... but I have no Spirituality left for a save file..."

But Aaron thought about it and still vetoed it.

Therefore, once a save file is consumed, one must immediately create a new one!

By now, his Spirituality had been completely exhausted.

Aaron let out a long, deep breath, exited the frenzy of pay-to-win card pulling, and then exited the *Ancient* game interface.

On the phone screen, a dim light blinked, and a new line of text emerged:

Aaron gave a wry smile, but still tapped on the *Ancient* game icon.

But when he looked closely, he discovered there was nothing there.

Aaron glanced at the talents he had drawn in his second restart and found them still too ghastly to look at:

"I Am the Retired Emperor": "Welcome, newcomer, welcome to the unlucky soul waiting for the death judgment with us... haha... this crappy game is just like this; all talents have only negative effects, no positive effects... you are truly unfortunate... Also, rookie, since you're a newcomer, I'll tell you one more piece of intel: never die in the game! Otherwise, you in reality will die the same way!"

Which is to say, there was no chance to create a save file.

He knew the latter possibility was greater; no wonder mysterious death events in the Simulator were endless.

Another ten extremely hellish talents:

【Great Ominous Fate: Your fate is Great Ominous】

【Inside the side room, 'Feng Shangfei', who is you, woke up...】

【Can spend 1 point of Luminescence, 1 point of Tower, to create a save file!】

'Feng Shangfei': "Newbie reporting... asking why the ten-pull talent draw at the start of *Ancient* is such a rip-off?"

"Give me back my 【Rotten Peach Blossom】 and 【Not Past Forty】!"

It seemed the atmosphere in this chat group was quite good; there were no instances of intentionally screwing over newcomers.

Aaron muttered a complaint.

'Xue Nai Meizi': "See that? There are many such examples... all of them are players whose game characters died, and they in real life soon followed and died too."

Aaron's gaze swept over the ten talents, skipping 【Born Mad Demon】, 【Suffering from Terminal Illness】, and the like, which he wouldn't consider at all, and focused his gaze on two talents:

【Great Ominous Fate】 and 【Spirit Touch】!

At first glance, 【Spirit Touch】 seemed quite good, perhaps even a prerequisite for some shamans and spirit mediums to change classes.

【Legend has it that those who have the Demon Star in their fate will surely bring chaos to the world and harm the common people! To resolve this calamity, one must collect all the Six Supernatural Powers of Antiquity... The various sects of the Jianghu are opening their gates wide, recruiting Disciples to meet the calamity... Are you the fated one?】

Aaron stared at the *Ancient* game icon on his phone, not tapping it directly.

【Note 4: After thirty days, if activity is below 60 and exploration is below 60%, you will be erased!】

"Let's continue to save the game first to calm my nerves..."

【Now, it is your second year at the Rotten Buddha Temple, but you are not familiar with this temple at all...】

【Mad Blood Inheritance: You are prone to going mad when emotionally agitated】

'Nine-Tailed Meow Meow Meow': "That won't work... according to the prompts, if you don't log into the game for more than three consecutive days, or if your cumulative game time is insufficient, or if your character's activity and exploration are not enough... the game will directly judge the character as dead... you know the consequences."

【Rotten Peach Blossom: You are prone to attracting evil women】

On the parchment, blood-red text emerged—【Do you want to live? Do you want to understand a more real world?】

【Note 1: You can only leave the game when your character is in a safe location!】

But now... it seemed the biggest drawback was already ineffective against him?

A game where you can save, what the hell is there to fear!

"Then why did I in the Simulator die so miserably?"

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face: "The Simulator is compatible with the death game? Interesting... let's make it compatible!"

'Black General': "That's right, behind this game, I don't know what kind of things they are, perhaps the Legendary God and Demon... but there have indeed been players who brought skills and items from the game into reality... they are the extreme minority, because this game is too damn hardcore; we find it difficult even to survive the first chapter, let alone open the second chapter and contact other players..."

【Not Past Forty: You will not live past forty years old】

Aaron muttered to himself, preparing to leave the game first.

【Entering the game...】

【Violent Death: Your chance of non-Natural Sciences death increases greatly】

【2. Continue sleeping.】

The subsequent notes were specially bolded, clearly not simple, and carried ominous signs.

【Yes/No】

"Wait seven days, save up enough Spirituality and then come back..."

【Illness: You are born riddled with diseases】

【Spirit Touch: You are easily possessed by certain existences, and the probability of attracting evil spirits increases greatly】

However, from those players, he also knew that all talents were negative.

"Alright, one more time!"

"Clearing the game with one life? That's a bit too stimulating..."

【Player 'Feng Shangfei' has joined the game!】

Aaron stared at the phone screen, no longer hesitating, and chose 'Yes'.

On the phone screen, amidst the ancient yellow pages, the blood-colored text continued to emerge:

【Simulator is compatible with the *Ancient* interface, some functions merged...】

'I Am the Retired Emperor': "The General has already said a lot; it counts as a discount for newcomers. After this, there will be fees, the standards are as follows..."

【System Prompt: Xue Nai Meizi has shared a video!】

This was originally just a text-based game.

Aaron continued to return to the start page, then saved, restarted...

To Aaron's surprise, another option box popped up.

"Feng Shangfei": "???"

After all, "Ancient" is a survival-based game!

Looking at the description, there might be some demons, ghosts, and monsters of that sort.

【Zaoyou: You are prone to dying young.】

But Aaron knew that a change had already taken shape.

Aaron let out a long breath, having roughly grasped the situation; this "Ancient Game" was just this hardcore—choosing talents at the start was just choosing how to stab yourself!

"Cutting the protagonist down a notch at the start, I'm impressed, I'm impressed... If this were a proper game, who would play it?"

"Luckily I saved up quite a bit of Spirituality, save the game for me first!"

【Financial Ruin: You cannot hold onto money.】

Aaron moved his mind, and another line of text suddenly appeared on the screen.

【Please draw your talents! (Note: Talents cannot be changed; cherish your initial talents.)】

【Game start!】

"Black General": "The first chapter is the scene when you first enter; it counts as a novice test mission, and you are the only one... It is usually a small map, and only after clearing it can you enter the next stage and come into contact with the wider world map and other players... In other words, since you are still on the small map, even if we wanted to come and rescue you, we wouldn't be able to... Furthermore, this game is disgusting; you'll know once you survive to the second chapter."

"It seems... they really don't have a Golden Finger?"

After thinking for a moment, he edited a piece of text and sent it up:

"What kind of hellish talent is this?! Does this game want to kill me?"

The only remaining choice was the last ten randomly generated talents!

"Give my 【Rotten Peach Blossom】 back to me!"

Aaron's expression was somewhat strange.

"Feng Shangfei": "I... I'm not playing anymore, okay? Even if what you say is true... if I don't log in again, wouldn't that be fine?"

"Did I make a... mistake?! Why target me like this?"

This meant his plan to roll for a top-tier talent had fallen through... and wasting all his Spirituality on talents was also a bit of a loss.

【External interface discovered, can be merged into the Simulator. Compatible?】

【Saoboxing: You are shrouded in bad luck, and your luck is permanently at its lowest value.】

Aaron muttered.

Thinking about rolling for a talent like 【Natural Taoist Body】, 【Sword Prodigy】, or 【Copper Skin and Iron Bones】 was out of the question.

Ten in a row, and every single one was a negative talent; not a single positive one!

"If this game isn't targeting me, then it's targeting all players..."

The Spirituality he had accumulated recently was almost not enough...

"Relying on the help of the Simulator... I have finally found the general trend of this world!"

【First chapter opened!】

【Create character, please name your character!】

"Life is just like this... the first choice given to you is often the best, but human nature is Greed, always thinking there will be something better later, when in reality, each is worse than the last..."

Aaron clicked on 【Great Ominous Fate】.

Aaron clicked to open it and found it was surveillance from some shopping mall, where a man in black was walking along when his head suddenly fell off...

【Note 3: The game character must maintain sufficient activity and exploration. Current activity: 1, Exploration: Rotten Buddha Temple 1%!】

"I'm not choosing, let's just keep it stuck like this for now..."

The game screen was exceptionally simple, just lines of text.

"Good thing... it's in the gaming circle after all, Chong Hu can find common ground..."

He opened a chat app and, following the number Chong Hu gave him, joined a chat group.

【Sudden Death: You will die suddenly.】

【Tianshan Dique: You are born disabled.】

"I just feel like if I click this, there will be big trouble..."

Just based on these talents and this difficulty... it would be a miracle if a player could survive!

"If it were an ordinary player, they would be smashing their phone by now... luckily I don't have to do that, return to save! I want to restart!"

After finishing reading this set of talents, Aaron was on the verge of tears.

The game difficulty is too high, I can only use a Golden Finger to cheat!

On the phone screen, the talents in the interface all disappeared, and it returned to the initial interface:

【Please draw your talents! (Note: Talents cannot be changed; cherish your initial talents.)】

PS: Wenchao wants to play this text game with the readers. If you want to influence the protagonist's actions, please log in to the Qidian APP and leave a comment in the selection section at the end of the chapter, for example, type 1 to go out, type 2 to lay low... The minority follows the majority, haha, thinking about it, it's quite interesting, uh... Wenchao will try his best to follow the rules in writing; if special circumstances occur, it is purely a statistical error or the author skipping a beat.

(End of chapter)