CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER 135: AUDACIOUS MANEUVER! THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE DIVINE SELF

"Heh!"

A soft chuckle escaped from Chen Pingchuan, who had been lying quietly in his bed. He was amused by his divine self in the simulation.

The sound spread through the quiet dormitory, reaching the ears of his three roommates. They all turned to look at him but saw no communicator or book—just Chen Pingchuan, staring blankly at the ceiling. They instinctively exchanged glances, the same thought reflected in their eyes.

"Chen Pingchuan has finally snapped from all the mining!"

It wasn’t surprising they thought so. After all, Chen Pingchuan had been like a perpetual motion machine all day. He had disappeared early that morning, and they only heard news of him from the cafeteria lady at breakfast—the kid had gone down to the mines to work again.

The outcome was the same as yesterday; he hadn’t found a single raw Energy Crystal. Zhang Lei had even privately joked to the other two about Chen Pingchuan’s terrible luck. Now, it seemed that streak of bad luck had finally driven him mad.

Chen Pingchuan paid no mind to his roommates’ speculation. He was more concerned that his divine self now recognized it was just a trapped sliver of consciousness. In the next simulation, would it give up, carry on as before, or pull some other wild trick? Chen Pingchuan didn’t know yet, but judging from the phrase "helping yourself is helping yourself," the outcome probably wouldn’t be too bad.

After all, his own living conditions directly affected the situation of his divine self in the simulation.

Chen Pingchuan continued the simulation.

[You looked at the sun in the sky, an uneasy feeling stirring within you.]

[You abandoned the idea of returning to the mine and instead wandered around the mining area. After a morning of effort, you uncovered the mine’s hidden secrets.]

[One: You discovered a hidden entertainment venue, located inside that same four-story building. Dozens of scantily clad women were held captive there. Although they were of average appearance, their alternative style of dress was noteworthy.]

[However, you did not like their expressions: numb and devoid of hope.]

[Two: You found the warehouse where the Energy Crystals were stored. It was heavily guarded, but the personnel didn’t look like they had much combat strength. Still, if you acted rashly and confronted them head-on, you couldn’t guarantee you’d escape unscathed.]

[Compared to the toil of mining, plunder is often the quickest and most effective way to get rich. To seize the processed Energy Crystals, you began a bloody purge.]

[You hid in the shadows, constantly using the Sleight of Hand skill on the guards in the mine, reaping considerable rewards.]

[Display harvest?]

The smile on Chen Pingchuan’s face vanished instantly.

Based on the simulation’s information, the origin of this so-called entertainment venue and the women imprisoned within was self-evident. When the apocalyptic red rain fell, the lower-class citizens of the outer city were displaced. To escape the Black Demons, many had to leave the environments they depended on for survival. Men might have been able to get by on physical labor, but independent women were often forced to become homeless.

How were they supposed to survive then? Chen Pingchuan already had the answer in his heart.

Trafficking, abduction, capture, robbery...

He recalled the miners in the caves talking about exchanging points for a chance to visit the brothels. This confirmed his suspicions.

Perhaps Scarface Li Laoqi’s earlier requests to the City of No Night included a supply of women. But the noble lords in charge evidently had appearances to maintain, so they must have rejected his proposal.

Using women as a tool to boost the miners’ efficiency, treating these poor, homeless women as objects to vent frustrations on... this seemingly normal energy mine was, in fact, a den of iniquity.

These people deserve to die!

Chen Pingchuan knew his own character well. He was selfish, but not a saint; he still had a heart for compassion. Suppressing the disgust rising within him, he continued the simulation.

"Display!"

[You stole: a fresh heart, a right kidney with gallstones, a mechanical left arm, a white undershirt, an old-fashioned rifle, a yellowed magazine, the key to the Energy Crystal warehouse...]

[In just half a day, you plunged the entire mine into a state of panic and paranoia. As the boss of the operation, Li Laoqi was driven mad with rage. His own mechanical prosthetic arm had vanished into thin air in broad daylight.]

[Li Laoqi mobilized everyone in the mine for a comprehensive search. Eventually, in an open-air, old-fashioned public toilet, they found the missing body parts and personal belongings, including the shit-colored mechanical left arm.]

[Not many people died that day. Most only suffered debilitating injuries rather than dying outright, but the bizarre nature of the events still caused a massive uproar.]

[That night, everyone was notified that all activities in the mine were to be halted. During this time, Li Laoqi found the nightingale and demanded a reasonable explanation, as no such strange phenomena had ever occurred before her arrival.]

[The nightingale was also shocked by the day’s eerie events. Besides her and her team, everyone else had been attacked to varying degrees. Moreover, these bizarre methods of attack were unlike anything she had ever seen or heard of.]

[Unable to provide an answer, Ye Luo and Li Laoqi parted on bad terms.]

[The lockdown only lasted for a day. With no discoveries made, Li Laoqi had no choice but to order his men to increase their vigilance. The mine had to continue operating. To his great annoyance, his left arm was temporarily unusable.]

[While appearing to compromise on the surface, Li Laoqi secretly contacted a mysterious person and reported the anomalies at the mine.]

Huh, so this Scarface is a double agent.

Chen Pingchuan gently pinched the bridge of his nose. His Spirit began to race with excitement; the experiences in the simulation were always so much more thrilling than the real world.

Just the Sleight of Hand skill alone could trigger such a massive chain reaction. He had rarely used it before because of its unpredictability. If viewed simply as a stealing skill, it seemed somewhat of limited use, as one could easily snatch away a target’s body parts by mistake.

But used as an offensive skill, isn’t it practically god-tier?

His divine self didn’t know it could directly absorb Energy Crystals, but it must have guessed he had the ability to store or hide a large quantity of them. After all, it still had memories of mining from the past few days.

So, the divine self’s current actions aren’t just about the Energy Crystals. It’s also venting its anger. Is it for those poor women?

When did it develop feelings like compassion? Or are we assimilating into each other? Is it becoming more human, while I become more... godlike?

Chen Pingchuan had a feeling things weren’t that simple.