"Bahaha, Old Lin lost again," a young voice full of vigor echoed in the bustling classroom.
"Shut up!"
Old Lin was furious. How could he, an expert, be defeated in the game he grinded day and night.
'Conquering Emperor' was a PvP game where you could use special cards and employ them to fight against the opposing Emperor.
His team was carefully crafted after hundreds of battles.
Jiang Shen smirked, "There's always a bigger fish, Old Lin. Your arrogance ends here!"
Jiang Shen was 15 years old and good-looking. Many of the girls in class admired him but were usually driven away by his friend group.
Old Lin, Jiang Shen, Qin Murong, Zhou Ming.
A group of four close friends that loved playing 'Conquering Emperor'.
Qin Murong was a bit chubby and had short hair, making him look comical. "Old Lin, personally, I wouldn't endure such a humiliation."
Zhou Ming snickered at the side while Jiang Shen had a smug expression.
"F*ck you!"
Xia Feng, also known as Old Lin, cursed uncouthly and ignored the three.
The teacher was about to come anyway, and he didn't want to stand in the hall with these hateful fellows again.
Xia Feng was 16 years old.
He was a bit tall for his age, standing at 5'10, but this was the only redeeming feature he had.
He wore square glasses and was skinny-fat.
He had a few streaks of grey hair and a few wrinkles on his forehead, which made his friends call him Old Lin - a character from their literature book, mockingly.
'Hmph! I'll smack them.'
He instantly decided to grind 'Conquering Emperor' some more once he reached home.
Even the Old Hag wouldn't be able to stop him.
Just then the teacher arrived, a beautiful middle-aged woman.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her skin was without blemishes. It was hard to believe she actually had a kid.
After fantasizing about her for a bit, like any child in puberty would, he was snapped out of his daze by her next words.
"Has everyone applied for a club? If you still haven't done so by the end of the week, you'll have your internal marks deducted." Her voice was stern and commanding.
The class went into chatter, and Zhou Ming, who sat behind Xia Feng, nudged him. "Old Lin, have you decided which club to join? Don't tell me you're going to join the Book Reading Club."
"Obviously not!" Xia Feng instantly refuted. Just because he was a nerd didn't mean he would stick his head in books all day.
"What group are you joining?" He asked back.
"The f*ck? I asked first, but I'll tell you." An excited expression took over his face. "I'm gonna join the Dance Club!"
He then rubbed his hands together and gave Xia Feng a look that any man would understand.
Xia Feng rolled his eyes but thought that Zhou Ming's idea was pretty cunning. Outside of their circle, no one knew that Zhou Ming actually went to the gym.
Due to the school's uniform, it wasn't visible as well.
It was evident what he had planned.
While Zhou Ming wasn't as good-looking as Jiang Shen, he was still pleasing to look at. Perhaps only he and Qin Murong were the undesirable ones.
A feeling of jealousy emerged in his mind as he said, "How sly. I'm thinking of joining the Art club."
"Eh? Oh yeah, you're good at painting, aren't you?" As if he remembered something, Zhou Ming scratched his head.
Xia Feng nodded, "What about Jiang Shen and Fatty Qin?"
"Hmph! That pretty boy actually wanted to join the Dance club, but I made him admit defeat!" Zhou Ming chuckled happily.
"Huh, how?"
"I defeated him in 'Conquering Emperor'!"
Xia Feng's face fell, "F*ck you!"
He thought Zhou Ming was still teasing him.
Zhou Ming hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no, you misunderstand. Remember the game I made you play with him last time...?"
He dragged out his last words, and Xia Feng's eyes widened in disbelief, "You! You dirty dog!"
If Zhou Ming was the muscle brain of the group, Jiang Shen the pretty boy, and Qin Murong the fatty, then he, Xia Feng, was the brains of the group.
There was a reason why he had greying hair.
Zhou Ming gave a sly smile, "Don't think I lack a brain just because I live in the gym."
"Dumbass, what if I tell him now?"
Zhou Ming was instantly stumped, "You... Won't, right?"
"Pff, of course not. Let that slender b*tch suffer."
Obviously, he was still mad over his loss previously.
Just then, the teacher smacked a book on the desk, "Alright, enough! Take out your history books."
The class instantly turned quiet, and Xia Feng took out his book. He thought about the conversation he just had.
He, in fact, did not want to join the Art Club.
He was instead fascinated by the Martial Arts club, but due to his glasses, he was rejected.
He hadn't told any of his friends about it.
Partly because it was embarrassing and partly due to not wanting to show weakness to his friends.
He felt inferior to Zhou Ming and Jiang Sheng anyway, why add to the list?
The day went by as usual, and nothing special happened, and Xia Feng arrived at his house.
"You're back? Go change and come down for lunch."
"Alright!" He responded enthusiastically, "Has that little waste of space come back as well?"
"Xia Feng!" Hearing his mother's shout, he quickly ran into his room.
"Don't talk about your sister like that!"
Her voice lingered in the empty corridor. The middle-aged woman shook her head and sighed before setting up the table.
...
It was 5 pm, and Xia Feng lay on the bed with a satisfied expression. He liked reading a few web novels on his phone.
The one he was currently reading was called 'Eternal Simulation: I Became a God on Earth!'
The story wasn't complicated, nor did it seem like it needed a lot of thought. But the casual and peaceful pace of the novel left him unexpectedly hooked.
The daily release was three chapters, and Xia Feng was always excited when he came back home just to read the novel.
He put on his headphones and chose his favorite phonk. The final fight was about to happen, so he needed some blood-pumping music.
Soon he reached the final chapter. But, to his surprise, there were only a few words present.
"What do you think happened in the end...?" Xia Feng muttered with a puzzled expression before flying into a rage.
"Bastard!"
He was fuming.
Did he actually get trolled like this?
Not only him but every person who was reading this, donated to the story and gave kind words to the author?
He even gave him two weeks worth of pocket money because the author said he was having a difficult time in real life!
"F*ck!" Xia Feng didn't know how to feel.
After endlessly simulating and going through various experiences, the protagonist had become an old monster.
But it turned out the Simulation system was just one of the soul pieces of 'Him'.
Even the protagonist was shell-shocked to discover that even after having limitless strength, he couldn't compare to a single slap from the 'Him'.
Turns out the system was just a way for the 'Him' to gather strength from multiple people before harvesting it and combining 'His' soul back into one.
Ultimately, the protagonist was just a pig waiting to be slaughtered. Once 'He' sensed that he wasn't improving any longer, 'He' immediately came to obliterate him.
In rage, the protagonist detonated his soul and system, leaving the 'Him' furious.
How dare an ant retaliate?
'He' destroyed Earth before flying away.
The author seemed to be hinting that something happened when the protagonist detonated himself, but then he was hit by this bullsh*t of a last chapter.
Xia Feng was in a daze. Such a heroic journey, had it ended just like that!?
Suddenly, Xia Feng had a thought.
"If I was in his place, I could do much better..." He muttered to himself before placing his phone down.
Just then, Xia Feng heard a loud rumble in his mind and jumped up with shock. In front of him was a floating red screen with large letters.
[Are you sure you could do better?]