CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: UNDERCOVER! DRIVE THE TIGER TO DEVOUR THE WOLF

[You have chosen Option A. Congratulations on making a wise decision. From this day forward, the entire world will tremble at your feet.]

"I don’t care if they tremble or not, but not a single enemy on my list is getting away."

Chen Pingchuan didn’t doubt the abilities of his divine self from the simulation. Looking past the phenomena to see the essence, ignoring the process to focus on the result—he was truly powerful. If there was one person who could rival the Celestial Palace, it had to be him. His thought process could be strange at times, but his strengths far outweighed his flaws.

[You endure the excruciating pain and climb out of bed. Your divine intuition tells you that this place is not safe to linger. Once you survive the coming red rain, you will retreat into the shadows, cultivating a Black Demon Army large enough to crush that blue iron shell into scrap.]

[As for the expressionless man and Big Beard from your memories, you cannot gauge their strength. A mortal’s wisdom is limited, after all. But as a Preparatory God, you can intuit an enemy’s power.]

[The moment you brace yourself and step out the door, you discover a man in sky-blue mechanical armor standing silently in the center of the courtyard.]

[You do not ask for his identity; you can already feel the murderous intent in the air.]

[To your surprise, he merely glances at you and says quietly, "Your insight is lacking." He then turns and flies off. He doesn’t use the typical flame propulsion of mechanical beings, but simply soars straight up into the sky.]

[A smile touches your lips. You have already seen through his method of flight—it is nothing more than a combination of magnetic levitation and reverse-thrust from air jets.]

[Although he does not attack you, your divine intuition screams warnings at you. You choose to trust it. Just as you are about to leave the outer districts in an off-road vehicle, you see the sun again.]

[This scene is very familiar, but the outcome is different from the last.]

[You died at the age of 20.]

[This simulation has ended!]

[You may now select rewards by consuming Simulation Points.]

[Available Rewards: 24k Titanium Alloy Dog Eyes (Talent), Jet Fighter Potion (Item), Servant Potion (Item), Madness Potion (Item), Miscellaneous Items...]

[24k Titanium Alloy Dog Eyes]: Yellow-grade Talent. Cost: 500 Simulation Points.

[Jet Fighter Potion]: A potion with a peculiar smell. Cost: 2 Simulation Points.

[Servant Potion]: Can satisfy its master’s... special hobbies. Cost: 2 Simulation Points.

[Madness Potion]: Induces complete and utter madness. Cost: 2 Simulation Points.

...

[Inherit Physical State]: Cost: 100 Simulation Points. Inherit the strongest human physical state achieved in the simulation.

"I’ll take the 24k Titanium Alloy Dog Eyes and Inherit Physical State."

[Remaining Simulation Points: 854]

[Remaining Simulation Attempts: 4]

A gentle energy flowed through him like a clear spring, nourishing his parched body. The stabbing pain in his brain subsided, replaced by a feeling of vigor and refreshment. A stream of basic knowledge on potion-making flowed into his mind, and this time, he absorbed it with ease.

Feeling his physical condition restored, Chen Pingchuan summoned his attribute panel.

[Name: Chen Pingchuan]

[Class: Laborer, Weapon Master, Unorthodox Alchemist]

[Age: 19]

[Strength: 10.2] (Talent active. 1.0 is the average for an adult male.)

[Agility: 3.9]

[Spirit: 6.1]

[Constitution: 7.6]

[Skills: None]

[Title: Quickdraw - Sang Biao (Green)]

[Talents: Strength Doubling (Green), Heavenly Reward for Diligence (Green), Parasite (Purple), 24k Titanium Alloy Dog Eyes (Yellow)]

Chen Pingchuan summarized his gains from this run. Besides the Yellow-grade talent as a guaranteed reward, he had also managed to snag the purple Parasite talent. It wasn’t exactly free, since it cost him 100 Simulation Points to inherit his physical state, but it was a steal. His greatest reward, however, was the knowledge of potion-making. It might have been unorthodox, but the potions were powerful, and that’s all that mattered.

After concluding the sixth simulation, Chen Pingchuan didn’t rush to start the seventh. Instead, he placed a call to Guo Yihang.

「At the seafood stall.」

Groups of people sat together, laughing boisterously as they clanged their green beer bottles together. Here, men and women alike had flushed faces and were emotionally stirred, seemingly discussing some major event.

Familiar spot, familiar corner, familiar faces—though two were missing. Chen Pingchuan, Guo Yihang, and Liu Yaofei sat around a table, but unlike usual, all three were silent.

Guo Yihang was the first to break the awkward silence. "Bro, what the hell is going on? You call us over here, don’t say a word, don’t eat, don’t drink... just sit there. Is something wrong? You’re scaring me."

Guo Yihang’s tone was rushed. He’d never seen Chen Pingchuan like this. For years, nothing ever seemed to faze the man. As long as he was present, he was everyone’s pillar of support; all they had to do was follow his lead. But today, after a bizarre call, he just showed up like this without a single word of explanation, making Guo Yihang’s heart pound with anxiety.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Liu Yaofei tentatively asked, "Is this about Xia Qingxue?"

Chen Pingchuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Liu Yaofei. He had just been mentally mapping out his next simulation but couldn’t come up with a good strategy. Xia Qingxue’s family was simply too powerful—despairingly so.

Hearing Liu Yaofei’s question, Chen Pingchuan subconsciously grunted in affirmation. He hadn’t expected Liu Yaofei to come up with any viable solution. After all, if even he was helpless with his System, what hope did anyone else have?

But to his surprise, Liu Yaofei pressed on with a second question. "Is it that her family opposes you two being together?"

Chen Pingchuan had no intention of hiding his relationship with Xia Qingxue. "Yes," he confirmed. "They’re against us being together. And their opposition is... intense." In truth, "intense" was a massive understatement, but Chen Pingchuan couldn’t find the words to explain the situation, so he settled for a rough description.

"Is her family that powerful?"

Chen Pingchuan’s brow furrowed in irritation. "The kind of powerful that even the City of No Night wouldn’t dare to provoke," he replied curtly.

He didn’t dare mention that there were few in the entire Great Ming empire who could afford to challenge them. It would sound too much like bragging, even if it was the truth.

Just as he expected, Liu Yaofei fell into deep thought upon hearing his words. A minute later, he looked up, his eyes burning as he stared at Chen Pingchuan and continued to press, "And what about you? What’s your stance?"

Chen Pingchuan sneered. "If I were strong enough to beat them, I’d want nothing more than to grind them under my heel."

Liu Yaofei heard the raw hatred in his voice and understood his position completely. This time, he didn’t ponder any longer and said directly, "We have an old saying in my hometown: ’Use your brain before you use your fists.’ We also have another: ’Tigers and wolves are fierce beasts that can’t be fought with brute force. But you can set the tiger on the wolf and use one enemy to destroy another.’"

Chen Pingchuan didn’t get it at first, but after a moment of reflection, his eyes lit up. He joyfully shot to his feet, scrambled over the seat, and pulled Liu Yaofei into a tight hug, planting two loud kisses on his cheeks.

There’s a solution!