[Simulation ended. Calculating results...]
[Calculation complete. Host's score for this simulation is: ???]
[Cal, cal, cal, cal...]
[...]
The flickering light screen popped up with garbled code before soon ceasing operation. This unprecedented sight left Yu Xian particularly astonished.
He was completely at his wit's end.
"Hey, hey, hey, no way! This crappy simulator trapped me in the simulation for over a hundred years, and now you're gonna mess with me right as I exit?" Yu Xian looked at the scene before him, his mouth twitching, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. "Malfunctioning again?"
[Cal, cal, cal, culate, late, cal...]
Within seconds, his mood experienced drastic ups and downs.
In the end, Yu Xian was pushed past his breaking point by this constantly failing simulator. He launched a flying kick towards the light screen that was incessantly flickering with errors.
"Move, damn it! I want to return to reality!"
Thud—
As Yu Xian's kick landed, the light screen, defying all logic, began emitting thick smoke, followed by a sizzling sound coming from within…
[Ahem, ahem, ahem. Alright, alright, don't be angry. Let's talk this out properly.]
However, the next moment, the light screen, which had previously been displaying nonsensical text, suddenly started working again. This time, the words on the screen seemed much more normal.
[It's our first time encountering a situation where a character within the simulation developed such intense emotions that they blocked your exit path from the simulation, trapping you inside for over a hundred years. Buddy, please be understanding, cut us some slack.]
Huh?
Seeing the text on the screen, whose style completely differed from the simulator's usual tone and clearly didn't seem machine-generated, Yu Xian raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you?"
[Hey, that simple simulator program crashed a while ago. The one typing now is manual customer service. Anyway, no need to worry about the details...]
[Please wait a moment, we'll send you out right away.]
"Huh? This simulator has manual customer service? How is that possible?" Yu Xian's first reaction upon seeing the text popping up on the light screen was disbelief.
What is this simulator? This simulator is the golden finger given to him by the Aeon of Elation, Aha. Why would such a miraculous thing have manual customer service? This makes it seem just like something the Interastral Peace Corporation would do!
But, now that he thinks about it...
If it's manual customer service...
Yu Xian's eyes darted thoughtfully, and he quickly called out to stop the person claiming to be manual customer service and chatting with him via text.
"Wait, you can't leave."
Yu Xian was indignant.
"In this simulation, after I died, I was trapped for a full hundred years in a soul state where I couldn't do anything! Do you have any idea how I spent those hundred years?! Couldn't touch anything, couldn't do anything... Do you know how mentally broken I was?! Now, you just casually brush it off and move on? Is that good? No, it's not."
Before the customer service could react, Yu Xian swiftly continued.
"What I mean is, you need to add compensation."
[Add... add compensation?]
"Of course, add compensation." Seeing that this so-called manual customer service seemed quite easy to fool, Yu Xian relaxed slightly. He crossed his arms and continued speaking, his tone becoming more natural.
"Think about it, I unfortunately got killed in the simulation, but then had to remain stuck there as a soul, just dryly watching other characters do their own thing. Isn't that a complete lack of gaming experience? And what if this situation happens again later? What should we do then?"
"So, you absolutely must give me corresponding compensation. No compensation, and I'll give the simulator a bad review."
[Hiss—]
Yu Xian blinked; he noticed a hint of hesitation and even a trace of agreement seeming to emanate from the text on the other side.
After a moment, the customer service agreed.
[Ah, no no no, please don't give a bad review, buddy. Everything you said is right. I'll apply for some compensation for you right away—]
[Ding Dong. Compensation has been issued to the host: Skill: Battle Continuation.]
[Skill effect: For a period after sustaining fatal injuries, the host remains alive and can continue to act or fight freely unaffected by the wounds.]
[If the host dies, before the simulation ends, the host will continue the simulation in a random special form. In this special state, the host is guaranteed to have the ability to influence the simulated world.]
[The host retains this skill in reality as well.]
Oh, this skill seems pretty good.
Reading the skill description, Yu Xian's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. He was quite satisfied with this freely given skill.
So, from now on, I'll be harder to kill, right? And after dying, I'll enter a special form that probably means turning into a spiritual entity...
And most crucially, the simulator just mentioned reality, right? I also have this combat continuation skill in reality?!
That would be absolutely fantastic, simply amazing!
Mhmm, not bad, not bad.
Yu Xian nodded. The next moment, the light screen continued to flicker.
[Compensation distribution complete. Detected that the host did not achieve a perfect ending. Proceeding with prize draw. Prize will be selected from the general prize pool.]
[Drawing prize...]
[Draw complete. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Xianzhou-style Wooden Arm Prosthetics]
Wait, what?
Prosthetics?
He was just happy a moment ago, but seeing this strange reward the next moment, Yu Xian suddenly had a bad feeling.
[Ding Dong. Host, no, buddy.]
The text from the other side became extremely strange, just like as if the manual customer service tried to pretend to be a machine program but couldn't hold it in. The tone of the message changed drastically from beginning to end, and Yu Xian seemed to detect a hint of schadenfreude in those brief words.
[Trust me, this reward is exactly what you need right now. Not lying, really.]
[Hehehe hahaha, ahem. Anyway, you'll understand when you return to reality. Also, buddy, you've stayed in the simulation space for far too long. If you don't hurry back now, I'm afraid someone might shed tears. Bye now~]
The final period appeared before the utterly bewildered Yu Xian. Then, as if the customer service on the other end logged off, the simulator's light screen also vanished, leaving Yu Xian no time to ask any questions.
"...But, what that customer service just said..."
Something felt off.
After the customer service said that, Yu Xian himself gradually began to feel an inexplicable sense of panic.
Wait, could it be that something really happened to his real self?
As the thought crossed his mind, a blood-red Chinese character for "Danger" (危) materialized above his head. At this point, Yu Xian couldn't bother with much else; he quickly collected his reward and exited the simulator. He needed to go back and see what had actually happened to his real self. Why would he need prosthetics? And what did the customer service mean by someone shedding tears?
[Exit Simulation]
...
The real world. Yu Xian opened his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, feeling somewhat disoriented with an unfamiliar ceiling.
Did I... get transported to another world again?
-------
A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Life Simulator: Starting in Genshin Impact!
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
patreon.com/deadlygoober