Chapter Eighty-One: Combat Simulation

Combat simulation was a subject Ye Bai and his classmates had to study in the second semester of their freshman year. It was a sometimes unreliable virtual combat program cobbled together by the old professors of the Institute of Technology.

Its full name was the Real Combat Algorithm Program Human Simulation. At first, these old scholars used it to simulate the process of experiments, correct mistakes, and improve the success rate of their research. Yet, a genius senior had once tweaked the code, turning it into something akin to a martial arts arena: both sides would input their own algorithmic programs to generate characters, then engage in battle until a victor was decided.

This was the simplest form of simulation, devoid of variables, and generally yielded high accuracy—the probability of unforeseen events during actual testing was quite low.

In Xiao Ou’s hands, however, building a realistic combat simulation required massive intelligence analysis, the impact of terrain, and a host of external factors where mutations might occur.

The first step was constructing models. Feng had already obtained the topographical map of the seed’s location, which he entered into the program to create a three-dimensional model. Next came the strength parameters. Xiao Ou was familiar with his own abilities, as well as Feng’s and Bai Wan’er’s, and could easily construct their models. The three from Ye Bai’s group, however, posed a challenge, so Xiao Ou set their stats at the lowest standard, letting them engage in endless battles against the abominations.

The first attempt ended with all three dying. Xiao Ou modified the program to attack from another direction; this time, Ye Bai survived, while Yao Ling and Cao Xiaoseng were eliminated by the horde. He tried again—this time, Cao Xiaoseng survived, and the other two perished. Thus, Xiao Ou kept adjusting the simulation until every member managed to survive the scenario.

At last, he gazed at the six survivors on his screen and halted his work.

“Let me brief you on the basic situation,” Xiao Ou said, sending his saved simulation data to Feng, who was keeping watch in the distance.

“Beyond Zone B, there are the Outer, Middle, and Inner Sectors. The deeper you go, the stronger the abominations, gene-beasts, and various monsters you’ll encounter. I don’t dare set foot in the depths of the Middle Sector myself.” Xiao Ou projected the entire map of Zone B before the three of them. He knew that freshmen entering the Radiation Zone were only given maps for Zones D and C, lest some overzealous students venture into Zone B and perish.

Yao Ling could have gotten a map from home or from her elder brother, but she probably hadn’t expected to enter Zone B so soon after starting university.

Xiao Ou zoomed in on the map, focusing on the Outer Sector, where a red dot blinked.

“This is our current location.” He enlarged the map at the border between the Outer and Middle Sectors. “And this is our objective.”

With a swipe of his fingers, the map of the target area expanded before everyone.

“Heavens! Are those buildings?” It was Yao Ling’s first time seeing intact structures in the Radiation Zone—clusters of buildings were scattered chaotically around the target site, leaving a vast empty space in the center. This place was well within the area devastated by nuclear strikes; the original structures should have been obliterated.

“Ou, look closer,” Yao Ling urged. Xiao Ou further magnified the area she indicated, and as the structures grew larger on the screen, Yao Ling’s lips parted in astonishment. “These are the unique abomination dwellings from the post-Dark Era. But why are they here?”

She recalled her brother once mentioning that, after entering Zone A, one would find dwellings built by abominations—crude houses made of compacted earth, sometimes built in the trees, little better than primitive shelters from millions of years ago. They were fragile, but provided refuge from the sunlight that was deadly to them.

“Where there are buildings, there once existed higher intelligence,” Xiao Ou explained. “Feng has scouted the area—only failed gene-beasts remain. I suspect that the intelligent entity sensed the lingering presence of greater beings and hid itself here.” He sent each member’s assigned attack route to their neural interfaces.

When all was done, Xiao Ou’s neural interface flashed, and the entire area plunged into darkness, save for the flickering firelight dancing across their faces.

“This plan, according to the simulation, yields the lowest probability of casualties. It’s the most feasible based on current intelligence. Study it carefully—it may be useful tomorrow, though the situation may change. No one can predict what will happen.”

He stood and turned to Bai Wan’er. “Wan’er, come with me a moment.”

Bai Wan’er followed him beyond the reach of the firelight. In the distance, Ye Bai glimpsed Feng’s silhouette flicker and vanish into the night.

Xiao Ou, Bai Wan’er, and Feng stood together as they did before every mission, awaiting Xiao Ou’s final instructions.

“I won’t belabor the simulation's reliability—it depends on the accuracy of our intel. Reality always brings surprises, but at least it gives us a reference,” Xiao Ou said. He had internalized the theory before ever entering the academy and had used the simulation program a few times in his freshman year. Each time, he thought he had accounted for everything, yet reality had always thrown in unexpected twists, causing them losses.

Bai Wan’er had nearly forgotten Xiao Ou even used the simulation. After a few frustrating attempts in their first year, he'd railed against the old men of the Institute for their armchair inventions, claiming their program could never account for the chaos of combat with abominations and mutant beasts.

“Wan’er, Ling’er will stay with you. Feng will operate between those two boys. Save them if you can, but if not, prioritize your own safety.” Xiao Ou stepped forward. “Three points aren’t so easily earned—how could those two boys collect them without skill? Still, be careful, both of you. That place may once have housed advanced or even master-level intelligent entities. There’ll be no shortage of failed gene-beasts.”

“What about you, Xiao?” asked Bai Wan’er, her clear eyes reflecting his figure. “Isn’t Feng going with you? He is, after all, a high-tier entity.”

“Me?” Xiao Ou looked up at the starless sky and smiled, his weapon humming in his hand. “What creature in this area could stop me? Feng should stay by your side, just in case. I’m going after the seed.”

“That’s enough—get some rest. Once we retrieve the seed tomorrow, we can go home.” Bai Wan’er turned and walked toward Yao Ling. Xiao Ou’s answer left her dissatisfied, but she couldn’t argue—she alone could not protect three people, and Xiao Ou without Feng at his side would be in even greater danger. She was caught in a dilemma.

“Feng, wait a moment,” Xiao Ou called, walking over to him. “Protect Wan’er and Yao Ling.”

With that, he left, and Feng, after a moment’s pause, returned to his watch.

Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng slept back-to-back by the fire. Yao Ling and Bai Wan’er occupied the spot originally set aside for Xiao Ou, while Xiao Ou sat quietly on the other side, the flames reflected in his eyes. Occasionally, he glanced at Bai Wan’er sleeping, his expression shifting between a smile and something darker.

——————

The journey from the Outer to the Middle Sector went smoothly, with no trace of abominations or gene-beasts. All six reached the target area unharmed.

Ye Bai stood alone before a mud-brick house, marveling at how the intelligence of abominations seemed to grow the deeper into the zones one ventured. They could now build houses—could it be that, deep in Zone A or even S, they had developed their own technology and armed forces?

According to the plan set the night before, Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng each covered a direction, with Feng—the one who had saved Cao Xiaoseng—stationed between them. If Ye Bai hadn’t seen Feng during the night watch, he’d have thought Xiao Ou’s team comprised only two people, for Feng came and went like a shadow.

Yao Ling and Bai Wan’er waited beneath a withered tree not far away. This arrangement reassured Ye Bai; with Bai Wan’er, a mid-tier Foundation cultivator, at their side, safety was much improved.

As for Xiao Ou, Ye Bai had last seen him at the start of their march—he had soon disappeared and was now nowhere to be found.

Ye Bai glanced at his watch as noon approached. “It’s eleven thirty,” he muttered, lying flat against the sun-scorched earth.

Xiao Ou had set the attack time for exactly noon—the hottest part of the day, soon to be followed by one and two o’clock, the peak of the day’s heat. At this time, both abominations and gene-beasts would be at their weakest.

Cao Xiaoseng lounged behind a house, basking in the sun with a look of lazy contentment. He’d sunbathe on his front, then on his back, occasionally retreating into the shade to avoid sunburn, his eyes half-closed in drowsy contentment. He looked more like a vacationer on a beach than a warrior gearing up to face abominations.

Yao Ling and Bai Wan’er endured the heat and the stench of monsters beneath the tree’s scant shade, both finding it hard to bear.

Between Cao Xiaoseng and Ye Bai, the area Feng was meant to cover was eerily empty, not a soul to be seen.

Suddenly, a splash of pus erupted from a nearby mud-brick house, hitting the ground and quickly drying in the sun, leaving behind a small corroded pit.

Inside, a man in gray stood quietly at the door, spinning a black dagger in his hand. At his feet lay the corpse of a gene-beast, the stench already unbearable though it had only just died.

Feng seemed oblivious to the smell, his gaze fixed intently ahead, as if he could see through the walls to where Xiao Ou now moved through the earth below.