Chapter 173: A hair's breadth apart, yet a thousand miles off

Yu Xiaomo said somewhat embarrassedly, and when Zhang Jie heard this for the second time, he almost couldn't hold back again.

"Yu Lao Mo and the seventy-year-old lady, haha! Liu Delie really has talent!"

Zhang Jie suppressed a laugh, gently ruffled Yu Xiaomo's head, and teasingly glanced at Lin Ran.

"It's fine, the problem isn't big."

The farce ended just like that, and Zhang Jie never expected to run into Yu Xiaomo and Liu Delie again.

As for Lin Ran, this plot trigger amazed Zhang Jie; it seems he'll have to pay more attention to Lin Ran's actions after his simulations from now on.

Lin Ran, meanwhile, was extremely vexed—not only was the rare chance to vacation with Zhang Jie interrupted by accident, but she also inexplicably gained a love rival.

All along the way, Lin Ran's gaze was both gloomy and resentful.

Lin Ran felt she needed to give Yu Xiaomo a nasty nickname as well!

Then let's call her the hateful seventy-year-old lady!

"The hateful seventy-year-old lady! She actually gave Zhang Jie a love token right in front of me!"

Lin Ran gritted her teeth behind Zhang Jie, but after he turned around she returned to normal, looking at him with an awkward smile.

Zhang Jie:.....

Zhang Jie knew he was in the wrong; he had firmly promised earlier that no one would come forward to recognize him, yet at that very moment Yu Xiaomo appeared.

"Um... I...."

Zhang Jie gave Lin Ran a lengthy explanation, and only then did he manage to appease her.

Watching Zhang Jie explain helplessly, Lin Ran felt a secret delight.

The three of them had just recently listened to Yu Xiaomo's story about Zhang Jie's past life, so she naturally knew how difficult it had been for him.

"Let me be a little willful just this once..."

While Lady Lin Ran monopolized Zhang Jie's attention, Weiniya, peeking from afar, flushed red with anger.

"Don't worry, teacher! I will definitely save you!!!"

Night fell, but it was merely the planet rotating to another side.

Zhang Jie and Lin Ran had already returned to the Alliance flagship; Weiniya couldn't stand these NTR scenes, so she glumly left to do missions elsewhere.

Yu Xiaomo oversaw such a massive interstellar corporation, so naturally she had little spare time; instead, Liu Delie was the one who ended up idle.

But what shocked Zhang Jie was that this old guy actually had a partner; after learning Zhang Jie and Lin Ran's identities, he eagerly brought his significant other to the Alliance to have a blast—one could say he was really living it up.

However, regarding that simulation, Zhang Jie actually still had many questions he wanted to ask.

After handling some follow-up matters, Zhang Jie opened the simulator again and posed his questions.

"Why was I able to control all the Nightmares in the universe back then?"

"Answer: Due to the life trait, you, as a 'virus' implanted into the False World, bear the duty to destroy Nightmares and the False World; and because of the random trait 'Innate Legend,' after you accepted it during the fate decision, under various influences you ultimately became a Legendary Nightmare and gained the abilities you know."

Zhang Jie scratched his head; how could he not understand what this was saying?

As a 'virus' he knows that, but he actually ceased to exist as an infant; why this destruction plan chose him to be the virus is something Zhang Jie cannot know.

But Zhang Jie knows that, upon entering the False World, he was originally a Nightmare, one with account data.

He was never human to begin with!

And his nominal parents, by some unknown means, transformed his consciousness into a Nightmare and shoved it into that world, personally involving themselves to gamble on that minuscule possibility.

"By the way, what would happen if I hadn't chosen Electronic Magic Skill but instead Supernatural Dream Builder?"

Zhang Jie is now eager to know what different results choosing different traits would yield.

"......"

"Answer: Didn't we say that already, only this once?"

"Don't be so rigid!"

Zhang Jie was speechless.

"This lets me know there won't be any problem either; just say what you want!"

"......"

"One viewing costs 250 simulation points."

"Go ahead and get poor then...."

Zhang Jie felt this 250 likely had some special meaning, but he had no evidence.

With the deduction of 250 simulation points, the simulator's panel spun, and finally it slowly presented another option to Zhang Jie.

"After choosing Supernatural Dream Builder, you will no longer possess gaming talent, nor will you become a top player, even if you wield a Nightmare Staff."

"As a Supernatural Dream Builder, you will no longer focus your energy on conquering games; instead, you will want to create your own game world, later become the developer of many highly rated games, and eventually become a game administrator."

"After learning your fate, if you choose to defy, you will not carry out the order to destroy the False World, and will firmly believe you are human; you will use the Supernatural Dream Builder's ability to separate the False World's Dream Realm from the Real World, attempting to create a true new world. You stubbornly want to trap everyone in the False World, but you simply cannot influence the Real World's AI."

"In the end, due to the Resistance Army's total defeat, the AI will continue to control the bio-power device, the Nightmare disaster will not fade, and Yu Xiaomo et al. will be eliminated by the AI because their real bodies are too old, leaving only you to grow old alone; finally, seeing reality clearly, you will die with regret."

"The ending rating will come to A."

Looking at the simulator's conclusion, Zhang Jie shook his head helplessly.

A hair's breadth apart, yet the final outcome differs by a thousand miles....

"This really is.... a terrible ending."

Zhang Jie felt somewhat disconsolate; no wonder they say becoming a heavenly disaster or a human is his own choice—turns out he dug this pit himself.

Even he back then thought becoming human was the best choice.

But he was wrong—he is a Legend after all; how could a life of following the rules possibly be called Legendary?

As for that other programmer's... Zhang Jie feels there's no need to look at it.

After all, this thing is obviously an ox-horse trait at a glance; looking at it means nothing.

"Huff...."

Well, from every angle, the previous simulation can be considered completely over now.

Sigh, same as always, I hope the next simulation lets me live a bit longer....

Hopefully not the kind where I end up working for life...