Chapter 2

Zhao Si: …

Translation: Zhao Si: …… (the ellipsis). Keep as is.

"What's up, died again?"

"What's up, died again?"

Staring at his phone screen, Zhao Si was almost numb—whether they slaughter or not, the protagonist has to die, right? So why are you giving me two options for nothing!

Translation: Staring at the phone screen, Zhao Si felt numb; no matter whether to slaughter or not, the protagonist had to die, right? Why give me two options then! We need to keep meaning. Let's translate: "Staring at the phone screen, Zhao Si felt numb; no matter whether to slaughter or not, the protagonist had to die, right? Why give me two options then!" Ensure we keep all clauses.

Destroy it!

Destroy it!

Just then, the familiar message appeared again:

Translation: Just then, the familiar message appeared again: Keep colon.

【Whether to reverse time and return to the options?】

Translation: 【Would you like to turn back time and return to the choice?】 Keep brackets.

"Why go back anyway? It's just two options..."

Translation: "Why go back again? It's just two options……" We'll translate: "Why go back again? It's just two options……"

Muttering a couple of words, Zhao Si, pressured by the supernatural threat, still reached out and clicked 【Yes】.

Translation: Muttering a couple of words, Zhao Si, threatened by the supernatural incident, still reached out and clicked 【Yes】. Keep brackets.

The page refreshed, this branch was completely erased, revealing the familiar two options… wait, that's not right!

Translation: The page refreshed, this branch was completely erased, revealing the familiar two choices…… wrong! We'll translate: "The page refreshed, this branch was completely wiped out, revealing the familiar two choices…… wrong!" Keep exclamation.

Zhao Si looked over in surprise, but saw that the original two options—slaughter and not slaughter—had disappeared:

Translation: Zhao Si looked over in surprise, but saw that the original two options of slaughter and not slaughter had disappeared: Keep colon.

【You have consecutively experienced two future branch storylines, both ending unsatisfactorily, thus realizing that extremist ideology inevitably leads to destruction, successfully triggering the hidden option.】

Translation: 【You have consecutively experienced two future branch storylines, with unsatisfactory results, thus realizing that extreme ideology inevitably leads to destruction, successfully triggering the hidden option.】 Keep brackets.

"【In the end, humanity seized the opportunity to counterattack, occupied Heaven, trampled the bones of officials, burned them to ashes, ascended to the position of supreme ruler of heaven and earth, yet then engaged in extreme vengeance, indiscriminately implicating kin, judging solely by bloodline regardless of whether one killed, wiping out both great and small demon clans almost entirely, causing future demons to innately hate humanity, with generations of both races endlessly repeating the cycle of slaughter…"

Translation: "In the end, humanity took the opportunity to counterattack, seized the Heavenly Court, trampled the bones of officials and nobles, burned them to ashes of brocade, ascended to the position of the world's protagonist, yet then engaged in extreme vengeance, indiscriminately implicating kin, judging solely by bloodline, wiping out both great and small demon races almost entirely, causing later demon races to innately hate humanity, with the descendants of both races repeating slaughter in endless cycles……" We'll keep the meaning.

The more he thought, the higher Zhao Si's interest grew; he really wanted to uncover the reason set by this 'Primordial Simulator' mini-game, not only due to the personal threat from the supernatural incident, but also out of his curiosity.

Translation: "The more he thought, the higher Zhao Si's interest grew; he really wanted to uncover the reason set by this 'Primordial Simulator' mini-game, not only due to the personal threat from the supernatural incident, but also out of his curiosity." Keep quotes.

After finishing the two side branches, Zhao Si gained an initial understanding of the whole slaughter incident:

Note: the line says "After finishing the two side branches" (typo: missing radical in 'side branch'). We'll translate as is: "After finishing the two side branches, Zhao Si gained an initial understanding of the whole slaughter incident:" Keep colon.

"【The cause was that the demon court suddenly issued an edict to slaughter humanity, slaughtering them and breeding hatred.】"

Translation: "The cause was the Demon Court suddenly issuing an edict to slaughter humanity, which engendered hatred among humans." Keep quotes.

Even though Emperor Jun treated all races equally, the witch clan still insisted on opposing him en masse, which could only mean that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were heaven‑defying conspirators seeking chaos, or that ordinary witches considered themselves superior beings with nostrils on top of their heads—anyone who tried to treat them equally would be resented, prompting them to lord over everyone else.

Translation: "Because while Di Jun treated all races equally, the Wu Clan still insisted on opposing him en masse, this could only prove that the Twelve Ancestors of the Wu were heaven-defying ambitious conspirators, or that Wu commoners were 'people above people' with nostrils growing on their heads, someone willing to treat them equally made them uncomfortable, so they wanted to ride on everyone else's heads to act high and mighty." We'll keep meaning.

Recalling the last few lines of the second branch, Zhao Si guessed that the scroll‑holding Taoist seen by the protagonist before death, with the black‑white fish chasing each other on the scroll, was likely the innate treasure of the Supreme Pure One, the Taiji Diagram, and thus the identity of the scroll‑holding Taoist became apparent:

Translation: Zhao Si recalled the last few lines of the second branch; the Daoist holding the scroll that the protagonist saw before death, judging by the black-and-white fish chasing each other on the scroll, was likely the innate supreme treasure of the Supreme Purity Saint, the Taiji Diagram, and the identity of that Daoist holding the scroll was about to be revealed: Keep colon.

"Xuan Du?"

Translation: "Xuan Du?" Keep quotes.

Thus, the classic old‑school Primordial setting that 'demons slaughter humans to forge the Demon‑Witch Sword' loses its rationality, since the witch clan rose up precisely because humans were slaughtered.

Translation: "Thus, the classic old setting of the primordial genre that 'the demon race slaughtered humans to forge the Slay-Wu Sword' loses its rationality, because the Wu Clan originally rose in revolt due to humanity being slaughtered." Keep quotes.

"【Unless there is some reason that causes Emperor Jun to expel humanity from the demon registry, label them as non‑citizens, and deem humanity a great harm to Heaven and all demons, thereby ordering a slaughter of humanity.】"

Translation: "Unless there is some reason that causes Di Jun to expel humanity from the demon register, list them as non-citizens, and deem humanity a great harm to the Heavenly Court and all demon races, thereby ordering the slaughter of humanity." Keep quotes.

Some say it's because humanity was kneaded from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, arousing the demons' greed, hence the slaughter.

Translation: "Some say it's because humanity was kneaded from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, arousing the desire of all demons, hence the slaughter." Keep quotes? Actually line 21 is not quoted; it's a statement. We'll translate: "Some say it's because humanity was kneaded from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, arousing the desire of all demons, hence the slaughter."

Others claim it's because humanity is weak, and since demons are all social Darwinists, the weak don't deserve to live.

Translation: "Others say it's because humanity is weak, plus the demon race are all social Darwinists, so the weak don't deserve to live."

Because humanity was made from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or because humanity is weak, must we slaughter them?

Translation: "Because humanity was made from heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or because humanity is weak, must we slaughter?" Keep question mark.

This reason is probably still insufficient for Emperor Jun.

Translation: "This reason is probably still not sufficient for Di Jun."

For example, the Qing dynasty's massacre of the Zunghars was also due to the Zunghars repeatedly invading Qing militarily, plus their conflict with Qing's fixed strategy to unify Tibet and Xinjiang, and their repeated provocations of the Qianlong Emperor himself.

Translation: "For example, the Qing's great massacre of the Dzungar was also because the Dzungar repeatedly launched military invasions against the Qing, and because it conflicted with the Qing's established strategy of unifying Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as repeatedly angering the Qianlong Emperor himself."

"【So, why exactly slaughter?】"

Translation: "So, why exactly slaughter?"

Wouldn't it have been better this way? Previously there were just two options, both blatantly mindless extremes: either surrender and grovel as a demon lackey, or go with the flow and become the Great Western King—truly too extreme; players should have been allowed to write their own strategies!

Translation: "Wouldn't it have been better this way earlier? Previously there were just two options, both blatantly brainless extremes: either surrender and grovel as a demon collaborator, or go with the flow and become the Great Western King, truly too extreme; players should have been allowed to write their own strategies long ago!" Keep exclamation.

"【And going with the flow inevitably invites extreme future retaliation from humanity, with vengeful ideology ingrained in people, slaughtering demons becomes even more heaven‑defying—killing seventy percent of all living beings, advocating extermination of nine clans, causing even neutral factions to oppose it, letting demons engrave their hatred of humanity into their very blood, to the point that even herbivorous spirits turned monstrous would eat people…"

Translation: "And going with the flow inevitably invites extreme future retaliation from humanity; a people whose minds are consumed by ethnic vengeance, when slaughtering demons, becomes even more heaven-defying, killing a full seventy percent of all living beings, advocating the extermination of nine clans, to the point that even neutral factions oppose it, letting demons engrave their hatred of humanity into their very blood, so much so that even herbivorous animals turned spirits must eat people……" Keep ellipsis.

Zhao Si pondered thus:

Translation: Zhao Si thus pondered: Keep colon.

Therefore, Zhao Si is satisfied with this Primordial setting where 'the witch clan rebels against Heaven after humans are wantonly slaughtered, leading to the witch‑demon war,' because it finally makes sense!

Translation: "So, Zhao Si is satisfied with this primordial setting's notion that 'the Wu Clan rose against heaven after humanity was wantonly slaughtered, thus sparking the Wu-Demon War,' which finally makes sense!" Keep exclamation.

Of course, this excludes genuine heaven‑defying brain damage, after all there really are leaders and regimes that enjoy killing for fun…

Translation: "Of course, the above does not include genuine imbecilic lunacy, after all there truly are leaders and regimes that take pleasure in killing……" Keep ellipsis.

Thus, after dismissing the slight possibility that Emperor Jun slaughtered humans merely due to brain damage, Heaven had no reason to slaughter newborn humanity—unless…

Translation: "So, after dismissing the slight possibility that Di Jun slaughtered humanity due to imbecility, the Heavenly Court had no reason to slaughter newly born humanity, unless……" Keep ellipsis.

And the Supreme Pure One personally stepped in to mediate—did the other five saints take action as well?

Translation: "And the Supreme Purity Saint personally stepped in to mediate, while the other five saints—did they intervene?" Keep question mark.

Likewise, Emperor Jun had no reason to not tolerate the witch clan; some Primordial versions cast witches and demons as natural opposites, but that actually falls into ethnic chauvinism.

Translation: "Likewise, Di Jun had no reason to not tolerate the Wu Clan; some primordial versions portray the Wu and demon races as innately opposed, which actually falls into chauvinism." Keep period.

【Regarding the clan's obedience to the edict to slaughter, please freely input your choice ()】

Translation: 【Faced with the clan's act of slaughtering people under edict, please freely input your choice ()】 Keep brackets and parentheses.

Then, Heaven's suppression of the splintered, separatist, oppressive 'witch clan anti‑living‑beings gang' would be wholly righteous, turning the witch‑demon war into a pacification campaign where heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony all lie with the demon side…

Translation: "Then, the Heavenly Court's suppression of the splintered, separatist, oppressing-all-beings 'Wu Clan anti-living-being bandits' would be too righteous, turning the Wu-Demon War directly into a rebellion where heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony all lie on the demon side……" Keep ellipsis.

Anyway, Zhao Si thinks none of these reasons hold up, because Heaven is essentially a symbol of high civilization and order built by demons, a class‑power institution; taking demons as the populace's base shows it has no inherent ethnic or national character, since 'demon' is not a specific ethnicity.

Translation: "Anyway, Zhao Si feels these reasons are all off, because the Heavenly Court is essentially the symbol of high civilization and order established by the demon race; it is a class power apparatus, and taking the demon race as the populace's base shows it fundamentally lacks ethnic or national attributes, since 'demon' is not a specific race to begin with." Keep period.

Zhao Si is also a die‑hard fan of Primordial‑genre web fiction, having read it since childhood; the basic plot and settings are second nature to him, and regarding why demons slaughter humans, different Primordial versions give different answers.

Translation: "Zhao Si is also a die-hard fan of primordial web novels, having read them since childhood; the basic plots and settings of primordial are second nature to him, and regarding the question of why the demon race slaughters humans, different versions of primordial settings give varied answers:" Keep colon.

One would expect them to be involved as well, especially humanity's mother Nüwa; even if she personally joined the fight to slay a hundred or so heavenly demon saints, Zhao Si wouldn't find it strange—after all, a mother…

Translation: "One would think they also participated, especially humanity's mother Nüwa; even if she personally joined the fray to help her children kill a hundred or so Heavenly Court demon saints, Zhao Si wouldn't find it strange, after all, mother……" Keep ellipsis.

"【A regime itself has no ethnicity; it does not target a group merely because of ethnicity. Generally, only when that group's interests clash with the regime's base of support do rulers or the masses deliberately target it.】"

Translation: "'A regime itself has no ethnicity; it does not target a group merely because of ethnic difference; generally only when that group's interests conflict exactly with the regime's base of support do rulers or the masses deliberately target them.'" Keep quotes.

"【During the demons' heyday, advocating that newborn humanity of just a few years be their lackey—never mind how humanity views me, that cheap father wouldn't split from me, it's utterly unrealistic, a surefire way to court death.】"

Translation: "'During the demon race's heyday, advocating that newborn humanity of just a few years be a sycophant—never mind how humanity views me, that cheap father not cutting ties with me is strange, altogether an impractical death-seeking path.'" Keep quotes.

However, Emperor Jun, as the founder of Heaven, incorporated all races into the demon concept, making them Heaven's base; this is clearly not the pattern of a brain‑damaged ruler, and under his governance the Primordial world at least guarantees basic social order.

Translation: "However, Di Jun, as the founder of the Heavenly Court, also incorporated all races into the concept of the demon race, as the Heavenly Court's base; this is clearly not the pattern of imbecility, and under his rule the primordial world at least guarantees basic social order." Keep period.

"【The six saints merely acted as bystanders in the whole affair, never personally stepping in to mediate, yet for some reasons they protected the weak humanity, giving it time and space to accumulate strength, ultimately enabling it to rebel against Heaven and destroy the demons… no, the six saints should have intervened, at least indirectly mediated.】"

Translation: "'The Six Saints merely played bystanders in the whole event, not personally stepping in to mediate, yet for some reasons they protected the weak humanity, giving humanity time and space to accumulate foundations, ultimately succeeding in rebelling against heaven and destroying demons…… no, the Six Saints should have intervened, at least indirectly mediated.'" Keep ellipsis and quotes.

The more Zhao Si thought, the more he felt he was playing a puzzle game; all the descriptions in the game's script can serve as clues to unravel the mystery, and the puzzle he now needs to solve happens to be the very cause of the entire incident.

Translation: "The more Zhao Si thought, the more excited he got, feeling as if he were playing a puzzle game; all descriptions in this game's script can serve as clues to decipher the answer, and the mystery currently needing to be solved happens to be the cause of the whole incident:" Keep colon.

"【So the question arises: why does Emperor Jun harbor such deep hostility toward a brand‑new species just a few years old, to the point of preferring to offend the already‑sainted Nüwa, to risk the pretext of wantonly slaughtering an innocent tribe, to shake the legitimacy of Heaven's rule, to give the witch clan an excuse for independence, and yet still slaughter humans?】"

Translation: "'So the question arises: why does Di Jun harbor such deep hostility toward a species just born a few years ago, to the point of preferring to offend the already-sainted Nüwa, preferring to incur the pretext of wantonly slaughtering an innocent tribe, destabilizing the legitimacy of Heavenly Court rule, giving the Wu Clan a pretext for independence, and still slaughter humanity?'" Keep quotes and question mark.

For example, wolf demons and sheep demons are both members of the demon race; everyone knows wolves eating sheep is natural and proper, but would Heaven allow wolf demons to freely eat sheep demons? Obviously not, since they are both 'demons', belonging to the demon race and forming Heaven's base—demon eating demon is akin to cannibalism, and no heavenly law could permit it, at least not openly.

Translation: "For example, wolf demons are members of the demon race, sheep demons are also members of the demon race; it's common knowledge that wolves eating sheep is natural and proper, but would the Heavenly Court allow wolf demons to freely eat sheep demons? Obviously not, because they are both 'demons', belonging to the demon race, part of the Heavenly Court's base; demons eating demons is like humans eating humans, regardless of how heavenly law stipulates, this cannot be permitted, at least openly." Keep period.

Under the Supreme Pure One's sect, only the saint himself and presumably Xuan Du—who likely hails from humanity—are qualified to wield the Taiji Diagram, giving him reason to join the battle.

Translation: "Under the Supreme Purity Sect, the Daoist qualified to wield the Taiji Diagram, aside from the Saint himself, should be only him; moreover, Xuan Du likely originates from humanity, giving him reason to participate in the war." Keep period.

Wolves, sheep, dragons, birds—though utterly different—can all be classed as demons; likewise, humans? Do humans fit the demon definition? The answer is yes: humans and other beast demons essentially share the demon definition, so humans are a kind of 'demon'; to claim humans are not demons or are superior to them is to fall into human supremacism.

Translation: "Wolves, sheep, dragons, birds and the like are utterly different, yet all can be classified as demons; likewise, what about humanity? Does humanity also fit the definition of demon? The answer is completely yes—humans and other beast demons essentially share the demon definition, so humanity is also a kind of 'demon'; to think humanity is not a demon or superior to demons is actually to commit the error of human supremacy." Keep period.

Zhao Si stared blankly, then suddenly realized:

Translation: Zhao Si blinked, then suddenly realized: Keep colon.

"【I get it— the multiple‑choice question has turned into a fill‑in‑the‑blank short‑answer question, right!】"

Translation: "'Got it, the multiple-choice question has turned into a fill-in-the-blank short-answer question, right!'" Keep quotes and exclamation.

"【Then the witch clan used this incident to accuse the demons of heaven‑defying conduct, carried out a massive slaughter to claim righteous pretext, and seized the chance to break away from the demons, enraging the demon court and thus sparking the witch‑demon war; the top ranks of both sides exhausted each other, giving humanity a chance to counterattack.】"

Translation: "'Then the Wu Clan used this to condemn the demon race's heaven-defying conduct, carried out a great slaughter, seized the moral high ground, and took the opportunity to break away from the demon race, making the Demon Court furious, thus sparking the Wu-Demon War, in which the top echelons of both sides exhausted each other, giving humanity a chance to counterattack.'" Keep quotes.

Free input?

Translation: "Free input?" Keep question mark.

This way, the Supreme Pure One not only took humanity as disciples but also poured great effort into cultivating them into mighty adepts, even permitting them to use the Taiji Diagram; if that isn't considered meddling, then Zhao Si doesn't know what meddling means.

Translation: "This way, the Supreme Purity Saint not only took humanity as a disciple, but also painstakingly cultivated him into a mighty adept, even permitting him to use the Taiji Diagram; if this doesn't count as mediating, then Zhao Si doesn't know what mediating is." Keep period.

Others say it's because heavenly mandate cannot be defied—humans are born destined, so they must be slaughtered to become the protagonist…

Translation: "Others say it's because heavenly mandate cannot be defied; humanity is born destined, so they must slaughter a bit to become the protagonist……" Keep ellipsis.

He admits that this little game he casually downloaded truly let him savor the experience.

Translation: "He admits, this little game he casually downloaded really let him savor the fun." Keep period.

……

Translation: "……" (just ellipsis). We'll output as is.

(End of chapter)