Jiang Mo was slightly taken aback. "A villain simulation?"
[The Villain Simulator is designed to simulate the life of a villain.]
The system responded without a hint of emotion.
[The Host must act as a villain within the simulation. Every villainous act will earn Villain Points.]
[After the simulation ends, a score will be calculated based on the Villain Points obtained.]
[The higher the Villain Points, the more rewards the Host can redeem from that simulation.]
After listening, Jiang Mo roughly understood. In short, he had to play a villain, cause trouble, and farm points to exchange for rewards.
"Although being a villain sounds like I'll just be cannon fodder for the protagonists… I don't really have a choice right now."
"Who cares what kind of simulation it is, good guy or bad guy. As long as I can get stronger and get rewards, that's all that matters!"
In this hellhole where he was on the verge of starving and freezing to death, survival was the number one priority. Everything else was bullshit.
"Begin simulation."
[Command confirmed. The first simulation is about to begin…]
[Drawing innate Traits…]
[Trait rarity ranges from White (lowest) to Red (highest).]
[Please select three of the following five random Traits to be your initial talents for this simulation.]
[Electronic Wooden Fish (White): Life is hard, so turn to digital cultivation. You can mentally chant "Merit +1" to achieve a state of spiritual peace.]
The corner of Jiang Mo's eye twitched. Even systems were into cyber-spirituality these days? One-star trash, get out of here.
[Genius on the Left (Purple): A genius on the left, a madman on the right. You perceive the world differently from ordinary people, making it easier for you to see through the logic and loopholes behind rules, contracts, and systems. You excel at identifying and exploiting the weaknesses of others.]
This one was good. A four-star Trait, no less! Understanding rules, finding loopholes and weaknesses… it sounded perfect for doing bad things. I'll take it.
[Silver-Tongued (Blue): You are a natural at charming people with your words and excel at twisting black into white. It is easier for you to incite others, and harder for your deception to be seen through.]
Although it was only a three-star Trait, this was definitely a god-tier skill. Fight if you have to, but why fight when you can win with words? I'll take this one too.
[Misfortune Redirection (Blue): You are an unlucky person. Tripping over your own feet and choking on water are daily occurrences. Once a week, you can forcibly transfer an impending unlucky event from yourself to any target within 30 meters. Upon successful transfer, you will receive a fixed +1 Villain Point.]
Another three-star Trait. It looked like a great tool for screwing people over. And while it could steadily farm points, it had the side effect of making his own luck worse. Plus, he could only choose three traits.
As he hesitated, the final Trait came into view.
[Trait Devourer (Gold): When you personally kill a target, you have a certain chance to capture one of their random Traits. Captured Traits are temporary (lasting several hours to several days), but there is a chance they can become permanent. You can choose to equip the captured Trait to your own template.]
Not only could he devour traits, but he could also equip them himself?!
Jiang Mo grew excited. With this Trait, couldn't he achieve infinite growth by killing enemies? Kill mobs, get Trait drops! With a chance for them to become permanent!
Although it was risky, this ability was absolutely heaven-defying. Truly a five-star, god-tier skill. The best things always come last.
Then what the hell was he hesitating for? [Misfortune Redirection] was a neat trick, but it had a side effect and was nothing compared to a talent that let him snowball and grow stronger.
The decision was made.
"I choose [Silver-Tongued], [Genius on the Left], and [Trait Devourer]!"
[Innate Traits have been selected.]
[Your goal is to obtain the highest possible Villain Points by the end of the simulation.]
[Note: Most abilities and items obtained within the simulation cannot be brought out. However, you can use Villain Points to redeem special items or Traits that appeared in the simulation after it concludes.]
[The simulation is about to begin. Please prepare.]
[Loading simulation world…]
Heh, this time I have these three talents. One Trait for talking my way out of things, one for using my brain to find loopholes in the rules, and one for killing, looting, and snowballing…
With this start, I'm set!
Jiang Mo licked his lips. The mental excitement temporarily overrode his body's fatigue and hunger.
"This is getting interesting…"
A cold smile spread across his face, growing more pronounced.
"Maybe this world isn't so bad after all."
[Simulation Starting]
A buzzing sound filled Jiang Mo's head, and an intense wave of vertigo seized him. Everything before his eyes suddenly slowed to a crawl… time had stopped.
His consciousness felt weightless, as if it were plummeting into an endless abyss…