Chapter 6: The Second Simulation Ends!
[You are chasing.]
[You don't know what you are chasing, or what you are clinging to. Clearly, many years have passed, and you only spent a few months together. The so-called 'love' seems hazy and nonsensical in hindsight.]
[Yet, you just want to chase after her. You want to see her with your own eyes. This has become your obsession.]
[When you finally catch up, you only see a household that seems to be holding a funeral. No, it should be said that it was already finished days ago; these are just the remnants.]
[Of course, you don't care about that. You just look around, your heart filled with confusion, afraid of losing what you haven't even grasped yet.]
[You take a few steps forward.]
[Someone suddenly plummets from above, crashing to the ground not far from you, right before your eyes... It is a cascade of sakura-colored long hair...]
[Blood gurgles out, spreading, flowing to your feet. You feel your blood turn to ice.]
[People arrive. It seems to be the mother and daughter who were cleaning up the funeral remnants. They see the pool of blood before them. Crying, the color of blood, howling—it all mixes together. It is a relentless series of blows.]
[You watch the ambulance drive away. Your brain is in chaos. You don't know how you returned home. That night, you developed a high fever.]
[For three consecutive days, your fever did not subside. It wasn't until Ai Hayasaka arrived that she discovered you were already on your deathbed. Crying, she rushed you to the hospital.]
[However, on the way to the hospital, you were already fading. Holding on to your last breath, you wrote a will for your sister and parents. Then, holding Ai Hayasaka's hand, you sank into eternal sleep.]
[In the end, your vision seemed to return to your school days. Shoko was still looking at you with that gentle smile, listening quietly. Everything still seemed so beautiful.]
[You died.]
[Simulation End]
[Evaluation: Bad]
[You did not truly solve the problem. You were just like a clumsy repairman patching over cracks in the wall. Even then, you didn't do a good job. You were too slow in making decisions!]
[This was a simulation that didn't even reach the standard of being barely satisfactory. You should reflect on yourself!]
The simulation had ended.
Haruka lay in bed, his teeth aching from clenching his jaw.
This simulation had gone into the unknown from the moment he chose to learn sign language, completely deviating from his original goal.
And...
Love?
Are you kidding me?
What do students know about love?
This is reality!
Not some puberty-induced confusion!
What kind of bullshit love is it if you break up the moment you graduate?
Therefore.
Haruka scoffed at the "self" inside the simulation.
The version of him who had awakened his other memories was exactly as the simulation described: profit-oriented, utilitarian, with becoming a social elite as his greatest goal. He knew all this. But so what?
Isn't that exactly how this world operates?
Haruka, now without the emotional fog of the simulation's memories, felt resolute in his heart.
"It seems that in the simulation, I was too soft-hearted. I mistook sympathy and regret for love. After all, I've never been in a relationship."
Haruka made a guess. Although it was just a guess, he felt it must be the truth.
"However, my goal has actually been achieved. At the very least, a knowledge reserve capable of getting into an upper-tier university is certainly not bad. If I can obtain the memories, then the objective counts as a success. After a few more simulations, won't Tokyo U be a piece of cake?"
"The peak of life is just around the corner!"
"Oh right, and the body. I need to remember to exercise more. To die from a high fever this time... it's strange. My body is clearly in good shape; how could I get a fever so easily?"
[Evaluation: Bad. Rewards are three items: Partial knowledge from this simulation, partial physical attributes from this simulation, small amount of memory fragments from this simulation.]
"Accept!"
Haruka's brain gave a sudden spasm.
A massive amount of knowledge appeared in sequence: Mathematics, Japanese Literature, Physics, Chemistry...
His body also underwent optimization. His breathing became deeper and longer, and his entire being filled with a sense of power.
And finally.
Haruka closed his eyes.
Memory fragments floated to the surface of his mind.
There was the image of himself writing furiously; the image of himself painstakingly practicing sign language; the image of himself and Shoko Nishimiya sitting on the rooftop; the memory of them sharing food; the sight of her quiet sleeping face...
Haruka's breathing grew heavy for a split second.
"Simulator, can't these memories be blocked?"
The Simulator did not respond.
In truth, these memories were indeed small in quantity and quite blurry. They basically didn't affect his judgment. But Haruka just felt uncomfortable.
He didn't know what this feeling was about.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter."
"Now, I even have an understanding of some university-level knowledge. If I consolidate it, I can probably keep up with the footsteps of those geniuses."
Correct, only keep up with some of them, not completely catch up.
Haruka couldn't help it. This was the gap between an ordinary person and a genius. Without a cheat, it was a very difficult thing to overcome!
But it didn't matter. This was only the second simulation. The future was infinitely bright!
"Sleep first. I have class tomorrow."
***
The next day.
After leaving breakfast for his sister, Haruka walked out the door.
On the way to school, Haruka kept thinking about the knowledge in his head—equations, chemical formulas, reading comprehension, essays...
Soon, Haruka arrived at the school gate.
By chance, he saw Shoko Nishimiya walking toward him, her head lowered. Looking at that familiar sakura-colored long hair, Haruka's memories were faintly triggered.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the school.
As a new high school formed by the merger of several others, Sobu High naturally occupied a large area. Although it couldn't compare to the scale of Shuchiin or Hyakkaou, it wasn't far off.
Haruka walked for a while before reaching the teaching building.
A new day was about to begin.
Subsequently.
Haruka began to list out a study plan, preparing to follow the order strictly.
As he was thinking, a breeze brushed past his face. He turned his head and saw Shoko Nishimiya looking at him with a big, bright smile.
Haruka nodded plainly, then continued listing his plan.
Shoko Nishimiya didn't disturb him either. She put away her school bag and took out her stationery one by one, her movements careful, as if afraid of disturbing Haruka.
After a while, teachers began to arrive for class. However, the first period today wasn't taught by the beautiful World History teacher who held a certain oppressive presence over the students.
Instead, it was a teacher with a thunderous reputation—the Iron Fist Teacher!
"Ahem!"
Accompanied by a cough, a beauty walked in. She had elegant features, yet gave off a distinct feeling of strictness.
"We have a new student joining us, so I'll introduce myself. I am Shizuka Hiratsuka, responsible for..."
[Image : Shizuka Hiratsuka]
The students were dead silent, behaving honestly and obediently.
Even the so-called delinquents in the class didn't say a word, daring not to cause trouble.
Shizuka Hiratsuka's gaze lingered on Shoko Nishimiya's side. After all, her self-introduction was clearly made for Shoko's benefit.
"In the future, I hope you can all get along well. Although this isn't the class I manage personally, I will be paying close attention."
As she spoke, her eyes darted toward the delinquents.
Scared, they widened their eyes, practically ready to thump their chests and swear on their lives.
Haruka watched from the side, finding it amusing. Shizuka Hiratsuka's intimidation power was as strong as ever.
Perhaps this was the reason why the ones who bullied Shoko in the simulation were delinquents from other classes, and not the bastards from his own class?
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