[Simulation direction confirmed: Survival.]
[Simulation officially beginning.]
Rex's vision went black.
Immediately, lines of text accompanied by images unfolded in his mind like a movie.
It felt as if he were actually there!
[Day 1: Your assistant introduces you to a new butler named Tifa Lockhart. At first sight, you are captivated by her impeccable appearance and her gentle yet capable demeanor. You explain the planet's critical situation in full, hoping she can find a glimmer of hope.]
[In a very short time, Tifa takes over all affairs of the Governor's Mansion. She dives into the mountain of archives, beginning to review every record in the history of Planet Alice. You wait anxiously by her side, every second feeling like a year.]
[In the evening, Tifa finds you with a dusty old document. She tells you that Planet Alice's mineral resources are indeed meager, consisting only of cheap base metals like iron, copper, and aluminum. The only advantage is the ability to manufacture some low-end alloys; relying on this for a turnaround is absolutely impossible.]
Seeing this, Rex's heart sank again. So it really wouldn't work?
[However, from a forgotten planetary infrastructure file, Tifa discovers a set of coordinates pointing to a long-abandoned military warehouse. She speculates that there might be items left behind by previous Governors. You immediately send men to investigate.]
[An hour later, your guards report back. In the underground hangar of that abandoned warehouse, they discovered a dilapidated Destroyer-class Starship! It sits there quietly, its hull covered in dust and rust, clearly abandoned for a long time and unable to start.]
A Destroyer!
Rex's breathing suddenly quickened! Even if it was broken, it was still a Destroyer! If it could be repaired... it might just be enough to offset the taxes!
[You are ecstatic, but soon fall into a new predicament. The warship is severely damaged, and it's impossible to repair it within a single day. Looking at this unstartable steel behemoth, you feel a sense of powerlessness.]
Right, there wasn't enough time. Rex calmed down as well. What could be done in just one day?
[Day 2: The Tax Collection Team's ship lands on schedule. In the final hours, you take a desperate gamble, having Tifa scour the Governor's Mansion and all the nobles on the planet for any jewelry and artwork they can provide. You pile them into a small mountain, hoping to use these items to bribe the Tax Collector.]
[The captain of the Tax Collection Team is a cold-faced officer. He glances at the treasures you've offered, checks them against the tax list in his hand, and then looks at you as if you were already a dead man.]
["Lord Governor, these jewels and artworks are also on this tax list. Currently, you have only gathered one-tenth of the 'Luxury Goods' item on the list."]
[You are completely stunned.]
[Ultimately, because the tax payment was not met, you are dragged to the guillotine by two Executioners in black armor. Before the cold blade falls, you see Tifa's eyes in the crowd below, filled with a hint of regret and helplessness.]
[You are dead.]
[Simulation ended. Rating: D. No extractable items.]
The cold words were branded into Rex's mind, making him shudder as if he could actually feel the chill at his neck.
"Huff... huff..."
Rex snapped his eyes open.
Gasping for air, cold sweat dripped from his forehead and down his cheeks, landing on the expensive carpet of the Governor's office.
That moment of being beheaded just now was far too realistic.
The coldness and despair of having his life stripped away left his heart pounding wildly even now.
"Damn, that was intense." Rex wiped the cold sweat from his face and forced himself to calm down.
Although the simulation ended in death, the process wasn't entirely worthless.
First, he had confirmed one thing—Tifa was indeed incredible.
To be able to find a piece of information forgotten by everyone within a single day from that vast sea of hundreds of years of junk files, and directly locate a Destroyer—this ability was simply heaven-defying.
A Purple Talent truly lived up to its reputation!
"I must keep the [Gentle Butler] talent next time!" Rex decided in his heart.
With such a capable subordinate, doing anything was like having a minor cheat code active.
Secondly, he also knew where the dead end was.
Relying on bribery wouldn't work. The Empire's bureaucracy was rigid and greedy; not only did they want you to pay taxes, but even the things you used to bribe them were counted toward the tax quota.
Those bastards simply didn't leave people a way to survive!
"And that Destroyer..." Rex rubbed his chin, falling into thought.
A Destroyer, as long as it could be repaired, would definitely be worth an astronomical sum.
The problem was time.
Twenty-four hours wasn't even enough to perform a full diagnostic, let alone repair a Destroyer.
Therefore, the key lay in how to produce something within a short time that would make the Tax Collection Team willing to 'be flexible.'
The value of this item had to be high enough—high enough that they would be willing to grant him some extra time.
"Could there be something else on that ship?" Rex suddenly thought of a possibility.
Aside from the ship itself, could a military vessel have some critical technical data or special equipment left inside?
During the first simulation, he had been too busy being happy about finding the ship and hadn't thought about this at all, jumping straight to trying to bribe them the next day.
"My line of thinking was wrong, wrong from the start." Rex tapped his head in frustration.
With a clear direction, he felt much more grounded.
He glanced at the clock on the wall; there were still twenty hours until the Tax Collection Team arrived tomorrow.
Time was tight.
"System, start the second simulation!" Rex didn't hesitate.
[Remaining daily simulations: 2.]
[Please select the talent to be retained for this simulation.]
"Retain [Gentle Butler (Purple)]."
[Talent retained. Drawing the remaining nine new talents...]
Nine new cards appeared in Rex's mind.
He took a deep breath and began to pray.
"Give me something useful, please, something that can solve the problem..."
His gaze swept across the cards, starting from the first one.
[Night Vision (Green)]
[Climbing Technique (Blue)]
[Ballroom Dance Master (Blue)]
...More useless junk! Rex's heart began to sink again. Was his luck really this bad?
By the time he reached the eighth one, his heart was almost completely cold.
Just as he was about to give up and settle for picking two random purple talents, the last card the tenth one drawn suddenly erupted with a piercing golden light!
The light was so brilliant that it made all the other purple and blue cards look dim and lackluster by comparison!
Gold!
It was a Gold Talent!