Chapter 129: A Brand New Simulation

A sensation of weightlessness hit instantly, followed by the faint hum of data streams rearranging themselves.

When the darkness in his vision faded, it was replaced by a boundless space of pale-blue holographic grids.

There was no sky.
No ground.

This was the Holographic Simulation Training Room—Dawn Corporation’s proudest core asset, integrating the top-tier virtual reality technology of the Sky Dome Group. It was said to simulate pain feedback at up to ninety percent accuracy.

This place was not unfamiliar to Lin Yu.
In fact, he even felt… a little nostalgic.

During the first month of his employment, he came here often.
But back then, all he thought about was how to slack off in this sealed, air-conditioned chamber and how to avoid the system’s “activity monitoring” to safely laze through the painfully long eight-hour work shifts.

Back then, he was nothing but a salary thief whose only talent was getting by.

But now—

“Generate scenario: Metal Prison.”

With his command, the pale-blue grids around him collapsed and reorganized instantly.

Within seconds, a massive, industrial-style steel cage materialized.

Everywhere he looked, black iron walls shimmered with a cold metallic sheen.

The ground was tiled seamlessly with composite metal plates; footsteps echoed hollowly beneath.

The towering walls were riddled with rusted rivets and complicated hydraulic pipes, with viscous liquid occasionally gurgling through them—like blood pumping through veins.

Above him, the spotlights were sliced by layers of wire mesh, casting a fractured shadow behind the small-framed girl standing below.

No exit.
No cover.

If it were the old, newly hired Lin Yu—the one who only knew how to slack off—he would probably have found a corner to squat in and hug his head for protection.

But now—

The girl lifted her eyelids lightly, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the red targeting points lighting up across every wall.

“Phase One: High-energy mobility evasion. Begin.”

The cold electronic female voice echoed.

A heartbeat later—

Dozens of high-energy laser beams erupted from the steel walls, weaving into a net of pure death.

“Just right… for a warm-up.”

Rather than panic, she tapped her toe lightly on the metal floor.

【Bunny☆Run Fast】

Soft, pink light flared around her ankles and formed two bouncing rabbit-ear silhouettes.

Da-da-da-da-da—!

Her loafers tapped in a rapid rhythm.

Her body became weightless—she wasn’t running anymore.

She was bounding.

Boosted by the bunny’s nimble agility, she danced effortlessly through the narrow gaps between lasers.

Her white pleated skirt fluttered, the deadly beams slicing through empty air behind her.

When the barrage ended, not a single hair on her body had been touched.

“Evasion training complete. Hits taken: 0.”

“Phase Two: Elimination training. Generate five C-class polluters.”

The metal grills overhead split open.

Five Steel-Wing Night Owls, each with a wingspan over two meters, descended into the cage.

Their wings were forged of corroded metal plates, scraping together with a piercing rasp every time they moved.

“GAAAAA—!!”

The creatures didn’t attack blindly.
They split instantly, spiraling through the air with dazzling trajectories, diving at her from five different blind angles simultaneously.

Any rookie would be overwhelmed.

But to Lin Yu, each path was simply a clear parabolic line.

She didn’t dodge.

She braced herself and clenched her right hand—spiritual energy took form instantly.

“Since it’s special training… I might as well test out everything.”

A flash.

A pink-and-white spiritual assault rifle materialized in her hands.

She raised it—locked on.

“Ta-ta-ta-ta—!!”

The muzzle spat cherry-pink spiritual bullets.

The erratic spirals of the creatures were instantly predicted.

The first owl completed a spin—
—and its head burst mid-air like an overripe watermelon.

Then the second.
The third…

The bullets curved intelligently, striking with absolute precision.

Data fragments rained like black snowflakes.

But one owl had hidden itself behind falling debris, silently slipping into her blind spot.

Closer… closer—

Its razor-sharp wings were about to slice through her slender neck—!

“Hmph.”

Without even turning around, Lin Yu flicked her left hand casually.

【Don’t Touch Me☆Hmph】

“L O L——”

A pink force-field bubble—decorated with a grumpy emoji—expanded behind her.

CRASH!

The ambusher slammed into it like hitting bulletproof glass, its body crushed by the rebound force.

All without her firing a shot or sparing a glance.

Within ten seconds, four C-class threats were eradicated.

Only one remained.

“…Ah. Found you.”

It was the largest among them—an elite variant.

Smarter than the rest, too.

After witnessing the massacre, it let out a sharp shriek, turned tail, and tried to flee at full speed.

“Really now… running?”

Bird-type polluters had incredible burst speed.

Within a blink, it had already pulled hundreds of meters away and was about to escape the simulation zone.

At that distance, firing a basic rifle’s unspecialized shots would be a gamble even for a top marksman.

“I swear to hell… can you birds calm down for once?”

Lin Yu’s lips curled—a hunter’s cold smile.

She raised her left arm into a perfect archer’s stance.

With her right hand, she pinched the air—drawing back an invisible full-moon bowstring.

“Perfect. Time to try out the premium skill I spent 10,000 performance points on…”

The air around her trembled.

Her spiritual circuits pulsed like a living organism.
Countless pink sparks gathered around her.

No chanting needed.
No clumsy charging.

A single breath—

An arrow of dazzling stardust condensed on the phantom string.

More complex runic arrays unfolded around its tip, self-guiding.

Accuracy?

That was for the poor to worry about.

A pay-to-win warrior only needed to shoot.

“It’s over.”

Her cold verdict fell.

【Shiny Spiritual Light Arrow】

“——Go. Hit.”

She released.

BOOOOOOM—!!

A sonic boom shook the air as the arrow tore reality apart, trailing a vacuum streak hundreds of meters long.

Absolute precision.
Absolute force.

Even though the owl twisted at the last second with a near-impossible right-angle dodge—

In the face of wallet-powered justice, all resistance was meaningless.

KABOOOOOM!!

The creature froze—
—and was vaporized mid-air by the blast.

A brilliant cloud of particles lit up the iron prison.

“Whew…”

Lin Yu lightly blew at her fingers—despite the lack of real smoke—and nodded, satisfied.

“Mm. Worth every one of those ten thousand points.”

A few seconds later—

“Training complete.”

The lights brightened.
The metal prison dissipated, leaving only empty space.

A giant holographic panel unfolded in front of her.

Golden text flickered rapidly—

【Comprehensive Rating: SSS】
【Completion Time: xx:xx】
【Damage Taken: 0%】

Lin Yu stood quietly, looking down at her uniform.

Even as a nearly-thirty shut-in man trapped in a girl’s body, he couldn’t deny:

“…Yeah. This body fights way too beautifully.”

Though, today’s training truly felt… different.

Those magic-girl skills that used to be a nightmare to master now flowed as naturally as taking a dump.

Slaughter, evasion, offense…

This body felt born for it.

Was this the price of “pollution”?
Or…

The beginning of evolution?

Clap clap clap clap—

Applause rang from the observation deck above.

Lin Yu looked up.

Manager Qian stood behind the glass window, his fat face glowing like he’d struck gold.

His voice crackled through the speakers, filled with awe:

“Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent! Xiao Lin, I take back what I said earlier…”

“What ‘defective product’?! You were born for the battlefield—”

“A divine killing weapon gifted from heaven!”