[You were imprisoned in Qlipoth Fort, keeping your mother, Cocolia, company.]
[Seele did not mistreat you. You received good treatment, merely being confined to Qlipoth Fort and forbidden to leave.]
[It seems she wanted you to see for yourself where Belobog would go under her rule.]
...
[You heard that the Empire had found the IPC's relics on Jarilo-VI.]
[Ron led a squad and successfully contained the Stellaron, securing it deep within Qlipoth Fort.]
[The Empire strode towards a brand-new future.]
...
[You heard that Ron was leading the troops to build a wall for Belobog.]
[The Empire's high-pressure rule caused public resentment to boil over. Someone approached you in the dead of night.]
An image popped up on the light screen—
A man in a black trench coat, wearing a smiling mask, stood on the eaves of the Guardian's Residence. His voice came through, somewhat distorted:
"The Empire is on its last legs... Everyone hates the Empire now. As long as you're willing, we can overthrow its rule tomorrow and announce the return of the Supreme Guardian to all."
His words were full of temptation, and the smiling lines drawn on his mask exuded a sinister aura:
"Don't you think you could do a better job than Seele? A cold-blooded ruler like her is fundamentally unfit to lead the people of Belobog..."
But the Bronya in the image merely stared at this person for a while before returning to the residence without interest.
"The Empire is getting better... Although this is not the path I wanted to walk, it is indeed getting better."
"I do not wish to bring any more turmoil to Belobog."
The image on the light screen faded, and new notes appeared on it:
[For the sake of the people of Belobog, you rejected him.]
...
[You heard that the Anti-Matter Legion had returned from the depths of the ice fields.]
[The Empire's army was sent to the front lines. The tribulation fire of [Destruction] burned the earth.]
[You saw Ron and Seele come to Qlipoth Fort together. As they left, Ron was carrying the canned Stellaron, rushing to the front lines in a hurry.]
[You immediately understood what he was going to do. You shouted desperately, wanting to make him stay.]
[But the only response you received was his back.]
...
[A light that swallowed everything bloomed in the sky.]
[Most of Qlipoth Fort was turned to ruins, but the Guardian's Residence stood firm and did not collapse.]
[You watched the second sun bloom in the firmament, letting the fierce winds kicked up by the explosion blow against your face.]
[Grit and sand scraped by with the wind, cutting deep, bloody marks on your face.]
[As the wild winds subsided, you felt as if shattered crystal dust had landed on your face.]
[The remnant of [Preservation] healed your wounds. You felt a warmth like a spring breeze on your cheek.]
[You realized what this was, and buried your face in Cocolia's embrace, crying bitterly.]
[Cocolia held you with a complex expression, also sighing at Ron's passing.]
[He flashed across the world's sky like a meteor, yet he cut through the haze that had shrouded Belobog for over seven hundred years, bringing a true dawn to this world.]
[He was worthy of Cocolia's respect.]
...
[On October 5th, 703rd year of the Architect Era, the rescue team from the Interastral Peace Corporation arrived.]
[The "aid" the Interastral Peace Corporation brought to Jarilo-VI was no less than the destruction brought by the Anti-Matter Legion. Everything on Jarilo-VI was destroyed and then replaced with a look that the Corporation preferred.]
[Seele led the Empire in an attempt to resist the Corporation, but this was undoubtedly a futile effort of overestimating their own strength.]
[The Corporation deemed the Empire's existence to be without value and dismantled it with ease.]
[The Empire fell apart.]
[Late at night, Seele came to find you.]
[You talked all night long. Cocolia stayed by your side. The lights of the Guardian's Residence were not extinguished until the first light of dawn.]
[The next day, Seele announced the dissolution of the Empire to all the people who followed her, and then disappeared into the cracks of the giant city.]
[For the sake of the people of Belobog, you put on the Architect's badge and tried every possible way to seek support between the factions of the Architects and the Corporation.]
[Cocolia maneuvered and navigated the corporate factions with you, proving Belobog's value to them.]
[You successfully led the people of Belobog to join the Corporation, becoming its citizens.]
[The Director recognized Belobog's value. The rebuilt city was no longer named by the Corporation, but was instead crowned with the name "New Belobog."]
[You were hired as corporate employees to participate in the urban management of New Belobog.]
[Time passed in a flash. You did your best to leave behind traces of your homeland's existence, but standing on the streets of New Belobog, you were lost in the endless jungle of steel.]
[The entire land was covered by steel and concrete. Colossal buildings that pierced the clouds stood on both sides of the roads. From time to time, streamlined hovercars flashed past, forming a ceaseless river with the airships hanging large billboards in the sky.]
[You failed to leave even a trace of your own civilization under the Corporation's hand.]
[The profound history of Belobog was erased under the heavy hand of the Corporation, leaving only "New Belobog," a resort mega-city extremely famous throughout the sea of stars.]
[This was no longer your home.]
[Game Over.]
[To ensure the player's gaming experience, Simulation Memory has been loaded.]
A thin stream of memories flowed into her mind. There were no surprises in this simulation's memory; the AI-controlled Bronya had been idle for a long time, and that part of the memory was just meaningless data redundancy.
And after that... there was only the regret of utter defeat.
Bronya took a deep breath, composed herself, and watched as new text jumped out on the light screen:
[Rating for this life simulation: 30 points]
[You have obtained 300 World Experience points.]
[Your World Level has increased—LV.9]
[As the nineteenth Supreme Guardian of Belobog, your existence was meaningless, merely a stepping stone for Seele to establish her Empire.]
[You had no influence on the development of the situation, only able to watch helplessly as Belobog walked down another path.]
[Although you managed to preserve Belobog's name after the Corporation arrived, you only preserved the name—]
[This small merit cannot erase your failure.]
[You are not a qualified Supreme Guardian at all.]
Only 30 points... Well, it was AI-controlled. Getting 30 points is normal.
Bronya looked at the evaluation on the screen and couldn't help but sigh.
This simulation failed because she hadn't paid attention to the game, letting the AI take control. That's what led to Ron falling into Seele's hands, and herself being driven from the position of Supreme Guardian.
However, regarding Ron supporting Seele's rise to power, aside from some regret over losing Ron, Bronya didn't have much of an opinion on Seele taking charge.
Her dream was to protect Belobog... If that could be achieved, what did it matter if she was the Supreme Guardian or not?
She never cared much for the position in the first place.
On the contrary, Bronya was very interested in the new path that Seele and Ron had forged in this simulation.
Things she had failed to do in the previous two simulations were, in turn, accomplished by Seele.
Containing the Stellaron, defeating the Anti-Matter Legion... these issues that had given Bronya a headache were all solved in this simulation.
This was the use of the Life Simulation Game. Every simulation could bring different possibilities and could lead down different paths.
However... Seele had also paid a heavy price to solve these problems—the price of Ron's death.
This was not a future that should be repeated in reality.
If she hadn't used the AI control in this simulation, if she had been the one in that position, she felt she could have done better.
At the very least, she would never have allowed Ron to go to his death.
If they had just held on a little longer, perhaps the situation would have taken a new turn.
The next simulation... she would definitely do better than Seele!
With this thought in her mind, Bronya raised her head and saw the evaluation on the screen fade, replaced by the reward options:
[You have successfully completed a simulation. Please choose—]
[1. Obtain "Company Employee Badge" x1]
[2. Obtain "Lance of Preservation" x1]
[3. Obtain "Imperial Emperor's Uniform" x1]
The rating is too low, there's nothing good to choose...
She indifferently chose the second option, placed the Lance of Preservation in the corner of her room, then carefully tidied up her appearance, and quickly walked out of her room to Ron's door—
In the last simulation, she was controlled by the AI and was indifferent to Ron, never acting together with him. That's why Ron left her camp.
She absolutely did not want such a thing to happen in reality... Absolutely not!
Thinking this, she gently knocked on Ron's door.
The sound of knocking awakened Ron from his deep sleep. He lazily climbed out of bed and walked towards the door.
"Who's knocking on my door at this hour... Coming, coming!"
He yawned, muttering as he opened the door—
And then he saw Bronya standing at the doorway, waiting quietly for him.
...As expected of a job that pays 1.5 million credits a month. Do we have to start work this early?
Does the work culture have to be this intense, boss?
Ron grumbled in his heart, but as a veteran of the workplace who was well-versed in the art of professional survival, his face bloomed with an enthusiastic smile:
"Oh, it's Bronya... Where are we going today?"
Bronya thought for a moment and said:
"Are you well-rested? Then today, you'll come with me to find the leader of the Underworld's mining team. They are the clearest about what's happening in the Underworld. I need to know why the Geo-Marrow supply is dwindling..."
"Just that? Then you can just ask me. There's no need to find the mining team."
A voice suddenly cut in. The two of them were startled and turned to see a purple figure walking towards them.
Seele strode over, the butterfly-like hem of her skirt fluttering behind her.
She looked at the stunned faces of Bronya and Ron, and a half-smile, not quite a smile, appeared on her beautiful face:
"What? It seems I've come at a bad time?"