Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 551 551: 468

"Study hard!"

She grabbed the control stick, her tone becoming serious. "Your big sister here is doing this for your own good. Once you finish these problems, you'll never want to fall in love again... No, I need to check your phone too. I must delete all those outside things that interfere with your studies..."

The control stick was pulled down, then came to an abrupt halt in mid-air.

Because someone had grabbed her wrist.

"Enough."

Huai Shi, finally awakening from the prolonged illusion, looked up at her and told her, word by word, "—There's no need to do any of this anymore."

It felt different from before.

At the same time, having endured countless cycles of rebirth and torment, and now reclaiming all his memories, Huai Shi had undergone a transformation, starkly different from his past self.

His gaze had changed. Even though it was the same pitch-black as before, something sharp now seemed to brew within. It had become firm as iron, authoritative and severe, impossible to look at directly.

And then... he quickly became utterly confused. Freshly awakened from a deep dream, everything from it was dissipating rapidly, leaving him with only vague impressions and outlines. It seemed like something had happened, but he couldn't articulate it clearly. Replacing these feelings were intense confusion and bewilderment rising in his heart.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Did I get tricked again?

If not for the memories of traveling with Lily remaining so vivid, Huai Shi would almost doubt whether something was wrong with him.

"You're awake?"

At some point, the figure in front of him had transformed into a black Flying Bird, innocently tucking the phone she had just pulled out quietly back in. Acting as if nothing had happened, she smiled with composed assurance.

"Congratulations, you've passed Utopia's trial!" She flapped her wings vigorously, offering her blessings. "From now on, you'll be a member of Utopia, acknowledged by everyone! Though you're an unofficial one, that's true, but even those old geezers barely clinging to life in the Current Circumstances won't treat you as an outsider anymore..."

It was only when she mentioned the trial that Huai Shi, as if awakening from a dream, took out the Book of Fate and began to flip through it rapidly.

In just half a day, the Book of Fate had gained a few hundred pages of records.

All of them were records of his life within the simulation.

But what was unacceptable was how brief those records were, often only two or three sentences long, just like the fragments of memory he retained.

Only the general outline remained, and the specific details had been completely forgotten.

"I forgot everything?"

He slapped his knee in frustration. "I worked so hard to level up so much, how could I forget it all once I came out?"

"First, the All Spectrum Heaven Sphere simulation isn't an all-powerful learning machine. Its main purpose is to let the trial-goers see the direction of their lives. Otherwise, wouldn't a person completely change after one trial? It's already quite an achievement to learn something from a false simulation."

The Raven shook its head helplessly. "Secondly, some things don't level up just through hard work; they depend on whether you have the talent or not, okay? Haven't you thought about how absurd it was that everything went your way inside without a hitch? That you had every possible advantage on your side?"

Some things couldn't be improved just with effort.

Within the limitations of the simulation, Huai Shi's abilities had skyrocketed as if he were cheating; that wasn't a level he could actually reach.

"If I were you, I'd be content with retaining a little," sighed the Raven. "You should also thank that little girl for the blessing she gave you; otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to keep even that bit."

Huai Shi silently bowed his head, examining the title page of the Book of Fate.

Even though he was already prepared, the rate of progress of his skills at this moment gave him quite a scare. Even as they shrank rapidly with the simulation's end, the growth remained alarmingly high.

His most commonly used skills seemed to have skyrocketed.

[Alchemy - Metallography] Level 9!

Jumping from Level 4 to 9 in an instant, one could say that Huai Shi had graduated on the spot. He was at Level 9, just a step away from Level 10.

It's safe to say that most Alchemists who didn't choose this specialization couldn't match Huai Shi's level. And those Alchemists who did choose the same specialization as Huai Shi might only barely exceed him through their own experience.

But Huai Shi also had the Soul Ability of the Hand of Confinement and the support of Alchemy Fire.

With both enhancements factored in, he could already be considered to have reached the full Level 10, the limit for ordinary people.

[Cello Performance] Level 17!

He had risen two levels in one go!

Once crossing Level 10, one could say they had entered the true domain of genius. Further progress would require serendipity and copious amounts of time to seek out and strive for. The further one went, the more difficult it became to advance, the difference as vast as that between heaven and earth.

And to jump from Level 15 to 17 in an instant, even though Huai Shi knew he had played the cello for dozens of lifetimes inside, he found it somewhat unbelievable.

This was, after all, due to his persistent effort, painstakingly accumulating experience to push the bar up.

Having reached this level, Huai Shi estimated that if the Hell Music Association's few old deviants were not considered, he himself could be counted as one of the handful of master-level figures in the Current Circumstances.

Alas, it was purely about skill.

The classical music circle is not a place where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can make their way without a pedigree, credentials, or a renowned teacher to act as an introducer and guide. Making it in this circle of established powerhouses is incredibly difficult.

Perhaps a pianist might find a way to stand out, but a cellist... forget it. At most, I'll end up as an accompanist. Without me, the Huai musician, do they think they would stop playing Bach?

The Huai Shi of today had gradually placed less importance on fame and fortune in his heart. But what made him happier was the advancement of his own artistry.

There was nothing more marvelous than personally feeling one's own progress.

And the [Sword Art: Ornament Play], which was entirely dependent on Cello Performance, also rose with the tide. As Huai Shi's cello technique improved by a fraction, it naturally rose as well.

—Level 15!

Only a natural-born swordsman who had slain countless foes and filled fields with the dead, or a genius proficient in a hundred weapons who trained diligently through the four seasons without pause, could hope to reach such a realm after middle age.

This was what made him a true successor of the Orchard Gym. Although Huai Shi was but an underachiever who had attended only half a month of trial classes, now that he had achieved such success, he could henceforth introduce himself as Luo Lao's disciple without bringing shame to Luo Lao's name.

Nevertheless, his basic skills as a Drummer and in the Yu Step had made no progress whatsoever. Still the same old story.

Bare-handed combat was still his weakness; in fact, compared to other skills, it had become an even more glaring shortcoming.

But these were issues to consider later.

Right now, the most astonishing discovery for him was... [Illegal Organization Management] Level 12!

What the hell?

Huai Shi was dumbfounded. "How did this skill grow so much?"

Originally, if he remembered correctly, it seemed to be at Level 4 or 5. At most, that was the level of a small-scale crime syndicate robbing a bank. But now at Level 12, he might well be capable of becoming a smuggling kingpin in America or a drug lord!

He was a natural-born criminal mastermind.

If Huai Shi put in the effort, he could even start from scratch in the chaotic regions of Africa, Australia, or the Middle East and become a big shot in the Dark World.

But what the hell was with this absurd growth?

"Why don't you ask yourself?"

The Raven pointed at his Book of Fate, tutting in amazement. "Even in a world without Sublimators, you managed to build your own base in the cracks between the powers of Rome and the Russian Federation. In such a hellishly difficult place, you were on the verge of founding your own nation! I knew it, you fool! You're a natural-born criminal! Shall we try a bit harder?"

"I'm not! I didn't! Don't accuse me falsely!"

Huai Shi felt uneasy just looking at it.

Although, well, the vague memories of perfect cooperation with my senior sister indeed stirred emotions.

But... wasn't all of that fake?

Besides these nonsensical skills, even the "Death Perception" skill, which had been stagnant for ages, seemed to join the fray, becoming Level 2.

It was earned by dying thousands, tens of thousands of times.

But the increase wasn't significant; it merely made the effect a bit stronger, and a new line of small text was added behind it: 'Perceive the subtle to know the significant.' It was no longer entirely passive but allowed Huai Shi to sometimes actively sense details that could be lethal to him.

His ability to cling to life had advanced further.

And after experiencing such a lengthy cycle of reincarnations, all the vague records that remained in the Book of Fate settled in one place, forming a new skill:

[Fake Wisdom]

It had no level, nor room for growth or progress.

As for the skill explanation, it was even more ambiguous: Most of the time, you can make a choice that's not the worst.

It looked strange, and indeed it was strange, precariously balanced between useful and useless.

If he were asked to cut the wires on a bomb, out of a jumble of red, blue, and green wires, he'd have a slightly better chance. He would be less likely to snip the one that would blow him up on the spot.

It wasn't about improving the upper limit of his luck, but more about slightly raising the lower limit.

Better than nothing at all.

Huai Shi had come to terms with it.

Being able to help Lily and achieve 'the birth of life' was reason enough for him to view this journey as wholly worthwhile. Not to mention all the insights and growth along the way.

「However—」

Huai Shi looked down, observing the "Event Affinity" blessing on his Book of Fate, and couldn't help but fall into silence.

Recalling Lily's parting words threw his mind into turmoil, making him feel somewhat overwhelmed.

He didn't know how to respond.

As he pondered distractedly, unsure how to interpret her words, he felt his phone vibrating frantically in his pocket.

It wasn't a number from his contacts list, but an unknown caller.

Yet it matched the number Lily had given him exactly.

He stood there, stunned.

After a long moment, he gathered his courage and answered the call.

"Hello?"