Simulated Lives: The Sorrow of the Sword Maiden

Chapter 21 – The position left for her forever

After discussing the matter of joining the Bureau of Transcendent Affairs, Xu Xi didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stayed in the director's office to continue talking with Zhang Yaoguo, learning more about the Transcendents and the Spiritual Energy Revival.

In this regard, as the branch director of the Bureau, Zhang Yaoguo undoubtedly knew more than Xu Xi.

"Spiritual Energy Revival, huh?"

Sunlight streamed into the office, casting a lonely shadow on the middle-aged man's face.

Zhang Yaoguo sighed deeply, "Xu Xi, how much do you know about the great catastrophe five years ago?"

Xu Xi shook his head, "I don't know much, only that many Transcendent creatures appeared overnight, causing significant destruction worldwide."

"I was one of the survivors back then. If it weren't for my luck, I wouldn't be sitting here today."

Director Zhang was surprised, "I didn't expect you to have such an experience, Xu. It's true that surviving a great ordeal brings future blessings. No wonder you were able to inherit the legacy of a cultivator."

He paused, then continued.

"Most people's impression of the catastrophe is similar to yours. They only know that many Transcendent creatures appeared, and later, people gradually awakened as Transcendents."

"Beings that only existed in fantasy works suddenly appeared in reality. It's indeed unbelievable."

"That's why most people call the new era the Spiritual Energy Revival."

"However—"

"The term 'revival' is somewhat inappropriate," Zhang Yaoguo said with a bitter smile, "Those things, those powers, were never native to Earth."

"Rather than revival or awakening, it's more like an invasion."

"Cultivation, magic, martial arts, fantasy, and even more incredible existences all appeared on Earth at once."

Invasion?

Listening to Zhang Yaoguo's explanation, Xu Xi frowned slightly.

He had imagined many truths, but the words from Zhang Yaoguo still surprised him.

"Director Zhang, are you saying those Transcendent creatures are actively invading us?"

"Not necessarily."

Facing Xu Xi's question, the middle-aged man carefully chose his words, "In the actions I participated in before, I encountered some Transcendent creatures that could communicate, even humans from other worlds."

"They also seemed unable to understand why they appeared on Earth."

"Moreover, it's not just Transcendent creatures appearing on Earth, but also other things, like vast landscapes, new species, and abundant Transcendent resources."

"The Bureau of Transcendent Affairs has grown to its current scale largely due to these products from other worlds."

At this point, the man in front of Xu Xi showed a very complex expression.

On one hand, he was dissatisfied with the invasion from other worlds, which changed the Earth he knew.

On the other hand, he was genuinely happy that with the help of these Transcendent powers, the country was moving towards a more prosperous future.

Finally, Zhang Yaoguo concluded:

"Invasion or revival, it doesn't really matter to us. We can't change anything."

"All we can do is improve our strength as much as possible to avoid being affected by the sudden Transcendent disasters."

Xu Xi agreed deeply, resonating with Director Zhang's perspective.

"Thank you for the explanation. I've learned a lot today."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Xu Xi stood up to leave.

Having learned the truth about the Spiritual Energy Revival and successfully joined the Bureau of Transcendent Affairs, he now had many things he wanted to do.

Director Zhang warmly saw Xu Xi to the door and arranged for a staff member to act as Xu Xi's guide, helping him familiarize himself with the internal structure of the Bureau.

For example, the storage room specifically used for storing items purchased from the Home of the Transcendent.

Considering that most items from the Home of the Transcendent are harmful to ordinary people, purchased items are uniformly sent to the local Bureau.

Then, the buyer retrieves them personally.

In addition, to help newcomers on the path of Transcendence master their powers, the Bureau offers various Transcendent courses, though these are completely useless to Xu Xi.

After a brief tour of the Bureau, getting a general idea of the departments' locations, Xu Xi walked out of the Bureau's doors.

Walking in the direction of home, he glanced at his phone.

"Although the Home of the Transcendent is the Bureau's internal trading network, it can be used anywhere."

"Buying and selling, searching for information, taking on tasks—all can be done at home, which is more convenient than I thought."

Looking at the phone activated and bound by the Bureau, Xu Xi was quite satisfied.

This way, he wouldn't have to frequently travel back and forth between his home and the Bureau.

"However, I really didn't expect that the so-called Spiritual Energy Revival is actually an invasion from other worlds, and multiple worlds at that."

"If this continues, perhaps Earth will merge with other worlds?"

Xu Xi pondered, somewhat lost in thought.

But he quickly laughed at himself.

Even if it were as he imagined, what could he do?

He was just a lucky owner of a simulator, pitifully weak and helpless, unable to do anything.

Surely, the so-called Spiritual Energy Revival couldn't have anything to do with him, right?

Of course, such a thing was impossible!

"In any case, I should head home first. The storage ring Zhang Yaoguo gave me contains many useful items that can enhance my combat power."

"Once my strength is stable, I'll use the Bureau's information channels to slowly gather anchor mediums and start a new simulation."

With this in mind, Xu Xi quickened his pace.

"Tick-tock—tick-tock—" But his luck was a bit bad. Just as he left the Bureau, the sky quickly darkened, and raindrops began to fall.

The fine rain was like silk, the moisture like mist.

The road, previously scorched by the sun, cooled rapidly, with water splashing up in a series of droplets.

Sniffing, Xu Xi could feel the dampness in the air.

He initially intended to use his magic to create a barrier to keep the rain off on his way home, but after thinking it over, he turned into a general store and bought a new umbrella.

Opening the umbrella, he continued walking home.

The rain pattered on the umbrella, producing a crisp, rhythmic sound.

Xu Xi enjoyed this sound very much.

Dreamlike, illusory, like a lullaby.

"Speaking of which, the last time I walked with an umbrella like this in the real world was five years ago."

"Time flies. I spent five years in a wheelchair just like that."

Xu Xi mused, suddenly feeling his left shoulder getting slightly wet. He adjusted the umbrella in his right hand, tilting it more to the left.

But soon enough, large raindrops began hitting his left shoulder again.

It was then that Xu Xi realized that whenever he held an umbrella, he would unconsciously tilt it to the right, instinctively trying to shield a non-existent figure from the rain.

"……"

After a moment of silence, Xu Xi stopped correcting his posture.

He continued walking with the umbrella in what others might see as a slightly odd manner, letting his left shoulder get wet.

Xu Xi knew he couldn't change this habit anytime soon, nor did he intend to. If asked why, perhaps he was hoping for some miracle that could never happen.