Chapter 27: Second Simulation with IRAS-17514

The meeting with the Alliance went perfectly, and after gaining a detailed understanding of Lin Ran's over two-thousand-year experience, Zhang Jie also discovered something different from his memory.

In reality, things have indeed been changed by the simulator.

And Zhang Jie could be said to be living off his wife's income; the amount of supplies the Alliance's military needs is astronomical, and his father hurried back to the company to stock up.

Zhang Jie originally wanted to go back and see his mother, but this old geezer forcibly kept him by Lin Ran's side, ostensibly to have a liaison for the Alliance at any time.

Actually, this old geezer just had a little crush on Lin Ran, and Zhang Jie couldn't be bothered to expose him.

These past few days, Zhang Jie has been studying the technology inside the simulator; you know, he still hasn't used up the rewards from the last simulation!

At this moment, Zhang Jie is sitting in the command room of the Alliance Expedition Ship, with a candlelit dinner set before him, but the person opposite him is nowhere to be seen.

Where did that person go? Zhang Jie looked out through the glass at the starry sky, and a planet exploded before his eyes.

Lin Ran's figure appeared before Zhang Jie, her uniform spotless, her bearing vigorous, as if what she had just done were a trivial matter.

"Is this the surprise you prepared for me?"

"Of course not!"

"Besides, I'm still the nominal Alliance Leader; seeing a completely eroded planet, I just blew it up on a whim."

Lin Ran stuck out her tongue at him playfully, then handed him the Disaster Breath she was holding.

"Here, return it to its owner."

"No thanks, you keep it."

Zhang Jie refused while sighing at Lin Ran's unfathomable strength.

"It's been with you for over two thousand years, and besides, I don't have the Disaster Blood condition now."

"Alright then~"

The space around the Expedition Ship twisted, the warp engine engaged, starlight streaked by, and it finally came to rest in a beautiful star-shaped nebula.

Two figures appeared before the nebula; this time Zhang Jie didn't need to wear bio-armor, as his flesh alone could now survive in the void.

"Hey, this is it."

Lin Ran turned her head to look at Zhang Jie.

"Guess why I call it a surprise?"

Zhang Jie gazed at the beautiful material, slowly rotating toward the center; it was indeed a rare sight.

"Why?"

Seeing Zhang Jie's curious gaze, Lin Ran's eyes curved into crescents.

"IRAS-, that's its name."

"It's a dead star; after death it became a white dwarf, spraying material around it, yet that material remains stably in its vicinity—a rarity in the universe."

Lin Ran looked at IRAS-, starlight reflecting in her eyes.

"These materials formed these nebulae, and these nebulae created the conditions for a new star to be born."

"This is a star being reborn, exchanging the death of one star for its new life..."

"Just like you, Zhang Jie..."

Lin Ran turned her head to look at Zhang Jie, filling her heart and eyes with only him.

"How romantic..."

Zhang Jie smiled, his finger lightly touching that tear-shaped mole, gently caressing it.

Lin Ran closed her eyes, leaning her head against Zhang Jie's hand, rubbing softly.

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a gift too."

Zhang Jie, like a magician, produced a golden rose made of blazing flames from behind him and handed it to the dazed Lin Ran.

The rose burned wildly, just as Zhang Jie's life is now endless and unceasing.

"As long as I'm here, it will never go out..."

These days, Zhang Jie spends most of his time with Lin Ran, but she is usually busy, and she still leads the Alliance worldwide to slay natural disasters.

However, this time she is not only targeting blood disasters, but all kinds of natural disasters.

For example, the day before yesterday, the Alliance first launched a large-scale extermination of the Insect Disaster; Zhang Jie was also temporarily dispatched by Lin Ran, relying on his flame-embodied form and the strength of a tenth-level gene warrior to clear a large batch of the Insect Disaster known as the Calcium-eating Fly.

Lin Ran, like Zhang Jie in the past, has gradually become a qualified leader, shifting from the obsession of vengeance to the determination to bear all this as a leader.

Zhang Jie felt greatly relieved.

Time flew like water; in the blink of an eye a month passed, and the simulator showed Zhang Jie's lifespan reduced to just over five months.

"It's about time to start the simulation."

If simulating every month were definitely not an option, fortunately the simulator's mark named 'Salvation' gave him the answer.

Collecting seven such marks grants infinite lifespan, so he wouldn't be forced by lifespan to keep simulating.

Moreover, if the simulation score is too low, one gains at most ten days of lifespan, but the simulator has a one-month cooldown; if the simulation is too poor, there's still a risk to life.

"I hope this simulation doesn't give me another Lin Ran-like outcome."

"Otherwise, what's the point of calling it a simulator? Might as well call it a wife simulator."

Zhang Jie muttered complaints under his breath while summoning the simulator after a long absence, then clicked to start the simulation.

"Activate!"

"Activation successful! Since you passed the newbie protection period, difficulty increases from this simulation! You need to draw your starting species identity, but the corresponding benefit allows you to randomly use an entry from the previous simulation."

"Species identity? What's that?"

But Zhang Jie soon found out; the simulator panel showed a dial that quickly began to spin.

The dial gradually slowed, the pointer passing over 'carbon-based humans,' 'carbon-based insect tribe,' and 'silicon-based life,' before slowly settling on 'carbon-based insect tribe.'

"Your species identity for this simulation is: carbon-based insect tribe."

"Would you like to spend 100 simulation points to spin again?"

Screw you! They won't even let me be a person, right!

Zhang Jie angrily chose to re-spin—who's got nothing to do and wants to become an insect disaster?

The simulation wheel spun again; this time it finally became somewhat normal, stopping at the 'Carbon-based Humans' entry.

Your simulated race for this session is: Carbon-based Human Race.

Confirmed!

Next, I will generate seven life traits for you; you need to choose four of them, and you must choose one negative trait.

(C) Martial Dao Divine Ability: By cultivating martial dao to the extreme, you will obtain the legendary Martial Dao Divine Ability—Bronze Head Iron Arms, Dharma Appearance Heaven Earth, Flesh Body Becomes Saint! (Note! This effect is extremely hard to trigger! Please choose carefully!)

(A) Heaven's Envy Talent: You are a born super-genius; your talent makes even heaven jealous, you excel at everything, but your life is not guaranteed—you will at most live to twenty-nine years old (When wood grows in the forest, the wind will destroy it; heart higher than heaven but a dog's life is hard to preserve).

(B) Prosthetic Holy Hand: Your hands are abnormally steady; whether handling a catheter or performing surgery, your hands are very stable; you can well control the balance between the human body and prosthetics; you are the best prosthetics doctor (whether you become the Conduit King or a legendary doctor is up to you).

(S) Dog Luck Equals Heaven: Your dog luck is extremely strong; walking you must pick up money, drawing cards you must get double yellow, lottery you must win; your dog luck is admirable, but correspondingly your luck is limited to dog luck—you can only have good luck in small matters your whole life, you cannot achieve great things in your lifetime (taking this will ruin you).

(D) Little Nan Brew: Your charm is unmatched; you have fair skin and beautiful looks, a slim waist and long legs, you possess a beauty that could topple nations, but unfortunately you are male (its value need not be said).

Negative Trait—Prosthetic Rejection: Your body, every cell, every nerve has extreme exclusivity, which leads to you being fundamentally unable to load prosthetics; if you force usage, the outcome is death.

Negative Trait—Cyber Psychosis: Your will is very strong, but after massive use of prosthetics, your body cannot bear the load they bring, your spirit will collapse, your humanity value drops, turning you into a cyber psychosis.