Chapter 568: Lonely Soul Trapped in Time Rift

(A) Forbidden Zone Survivor: In the anomaly zone, you will gain extremely strong survival instincts, able to precisely locate safe zones and remaining supplies; even in harsh environments you can maintain a foothold long-term, but prolonged stay in the zone causes your body to accumulate irreversible anomaly erosion, gradually deviating from normal human condition. (Are you still human? If not, what does it matter? As long as you exist in this world, nothing matters.)

Hmm.... At first glance it seems fine, but upon reflection it's all pitfalls.

Zhang Jie sighed; without negative traits, the difficulty actually increased.

So-called lack of negative traits merely means this thing is crushed and mixed into each trait; put bluntly, clumped together it's a lump of dung, scattered it's filth everywhere.

Apart from the SSS trait 'Legendary Investigator' which shows no pitfalls, the rest more or less have the word 'pitfall' written on their faces.

'Lamp Keeper' highlights a night‑hero who guards the world's clarity, yet who can save the Lamp Keeper?

'Soul Fire Guide' is even more exaggerated, its main gimmick is burning oneself; with this, Zhang Jie probably wouldn't survive past 25.

If I'm not mistaken, 'Lamp Keeper' and 'Soul Fire Guide' are actually a combined trait; their relationship is probably not simple.

'Steadfast Will' and 'Forbidden Zone Survivor' seem effective, but both have flaws and are not purely positive bonuses like earlier traits.

In other words, aside from the first trait 'Legendary Investigator' which is essentially a must‑pick, Zhang Jie can only watch the others.

(D) Undying Obsession: Even if your body is on the verge of collapse and your mind is disturbed by anomaly, as long as you hold an obsession in your heart you will never fall; you will drag your ruined body to keep fighting anomaly and protect whatever you wish to guard, exerting your full strength even with only one breath left—but the moment your obsession fades, life will also be completely extinguished. (What keeps people alive is never letting go of their obsession.)

(SS) Anomaly Reverser: You can voluntarily enter the zone with the highest anomaly concentration; you won't be quickly eroded and can absorb anomaly energy to strengthen yourself—the more dangerous the area, the stronger you become, able to clash head‑on with top‑tier anomaly entities, but the more energy you absorb, the more prone your mind is to being assimilated by anomaly. (Going against the tide in a heavenly disaster, you will ultimately merge with the abyss.)

(S) Genetic Stability: Your gene sequence possesses extreme stability, granting immunity to most anomaly infections and gene pollution; your body won't be mutated or become a monster, and it can weakly stabilize the gene sequences of similar beings around you. However, this stability is not eternal—each time you resist high‑intensity erosion, your mind suffers irreversible wear. (Consciousness determines form; when you realize you are no longer human, you have already ceased to be human.)

(SSS) Evil God: You have actively embraced ■ to break free from the bondage of the underlying rules, your body and mind are completely polluted by the heaven■ origin, your existence keeps collapsing ■ ■, deformed ■. In your sight, reality turns into... ■■■■, I won't ■■■ die ■!!!! You are no longer an 'existence', but anomaly itself??? 0x00E7??????????? (Order collapses at a touch, sobriety means instant death.)

Damn, what the hell is this!

Zhang Jie stared at the endlessly flickering garbled trait; a nameless dread welled up inside him, as if something beyond the screen was watching him—this thing looks bad at a glance!

This is weirder than a blood disaster—how can it even affect the simulator?

Affecting a spicy potato ball? This is purely for immersion, cut me some slack.

Zhang Jie:......

Idiot.

Zhang Jie really had no recourse; he thought this time would be some extremely disgusting great horror, but it turned out the simulator just went sick.

Don't think I'm being casual, but this kind of uncanny‑valley feeling is exactly the warning I'm giving you—your feeling is not mistaken.

Zhang Jie:.....

That's right, after all this is a simulation—you have to experience it yourself, and almost every simulator run offers a simple violent 'apocalypse' option.

This 'Evil God' and the previous Apocalypse Envoy, entropy disaster and such are all of the same ilk—picking it would probably just drive you completely mad.

This time.... is really dangerous.

Zhang Jie shook his head and fixed his gaze on other traits.

D‑grade trait 'Undying Obsession'—this is comparable to the 'Undying' from the AI simulation before! Though it isn't as overpowered as that Undying, it has no side effects and is a pure must‑pick trait.

Then the 'Anomaly Reverser'—this is a god‑trait! Don't let the large downside fool you, but don't forget earlier traits had 'Steadfast Will'!

Those two together are definitely an SSS‑trait!

If we also add 'Genetic Stability'....

Damn! Perfect match!

You see, 'Steadfast Will' first fails the body, whereas 'Genetic Stability''s biggest flaw is the mind.

And on this base, adding 'Superhuman' and pairing with 'Anomaly Reverser' makes a perfect fit— a legendary life is practically predetermined.

Hmm.... the prize pool seems to be able to accumulate too!

Don't forget, the simulator's recent new feature can spawn a trait that can be refreshed infinitely! Plus the bonus simulated traits attached later!

Oh heavens, he can actually bring eight traits at once for simulation! This is going to be insanely fun!

"Spend 500 simulator points to generate an extra trait (refreshing costs 100 simulator points)"

"Do it!"

"(A) Ageless....."

"Screw you! No matter what, I have to get an S‑trait out!"

Poor little trait, it didn't even get born before Zhang Jie passed on it.

After refreshing over a dozen times, a striking gold hue suddenly appeared before his eyes.

(SS) Lonely Soul Trapped in Time Rift: You are the sole existence across all timelines that never fully died, caught between past and future by collapsed reality; obsession makes you a silent drifter, a lonely soul in the time rift. You can follow the causal threads, transmitting methods to resist pollution, paths to avoid anomaly, and the key information to overturn the apocalypse—via consciousness or reality—to your past self still living in normal time. (In the eternal solitude and void you alone guard all failed endings, just so that one 'you' can step into the rebirth you could never reach.)

"Tsk tsk tsk, simulator, simulator, you really don't want Old Zhang to have an easy time."

This trait is arguably the most desperate of all traits; Zhang Jie has a premonition that it's even more desperate than seventy‑plus‑thousand years of lonely vigil.

Trapped in the world's rift, one person alone guards countless cycles of despair—Old Zhang too is destined to step into the cycle.

"So... shall we pick it?"

Gazing at that trait, Zhang Jie could not make a decision for a long time.

"...."

"Screw it! Do it! A real man's gotta do it like this!"