Chapter 462.1: This Is Actually A Sim Game

Accompanied by a series of piercing shrieks, dark red tendrils shot through the Creeper’s body like lightning.

Its massive maw, dripping with black blood, let out a desperate roar, trying to break free from the tendrils' grip. The next second, another tendril swiftly followed and pierced straight through its forehead.

Black blood splattered everywhere.

That skull, tough enough to stop a 7mm bullet, was thoroughly punctured by what appeared to be a soft tendril.

Falling Feather stood stunned, staring at Little Feather, who was drenched in black blood. His gaze alternated between the little one and the Creeper that had turned into a leaking showerhead. His expression slowly shifted from shock and joy to a blazing fervor.

The way the battle unfolded was certainly on the bizarre side, but that didn’t matter!

What mattered was Little Feather was badass!

“Hahaha! My little pet! You’ve finally grown up!” Falling Feather exclaimed with delight, walking up and ruffling Little Feather’s head.

As he touched its forehead, Little Feather let out a soft growl and nuzzled against his hand affectionately.

It looked just like a cat begging for attention. Also, the smooth, slippery feel really was quite similar to a hairless cat.

Although Falling Feather had struggled at first to accept the avant-garde look of his so-called SSSR god-tier pet, he had gotten used to it over time.

It could kill a Creeper with its bare tendrils!

That was plenty strong already!

Next time, they could try taking on a Tyrant!

While Falling Feather was still reveling in the joy of having figured out how to raise Little Feather properly, Little Feather had already pounced on the recently slain Creeper and was feasting on it ravenously.

Before that... It had already eaten three.

"Its appetite seems to have increased again." He remembered that in the beginning, two Creepers were enough to fill Little Feather up.

Now, it needed four to five a day.

Falling Feather stroked his chin with interest, flipped through a few pages in his notebook, and jotted down his observation.

[Day 11: Appetite has doubled, but body size shows no obvious change.]

The next second, he discovered something even more interesting.

On the surface of the crimson, skirt-like Slime Mold mass around Little Feather’s lower body, patches of gray-brown hardened layer had formed at some point.

The largest piece was about the size of half a palm, while the smallest was only the size of a thumb, like armor plating on a knight.

Since the armored area was quite small, one wouldn’t notice anything if they didn’t look carefully.

Curious, Falling Feather reached out and touched it, then tested its durability with a knife.

Little Feather, still engrossed in its meal, didn’t react at all. Clearly, it didn’t feel any pain. No matter how hard he tried, his knife left no scratches on the hardened layer.

Feeling the strength of Little Feather’s organic armor, Falling Feather’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he quickly noted it down in his journal.

[Day 11: Growth of organic armor! Suspect the size of armor will continue to expand as Little Feather develops...]

Closing his notebook, Falling Feather gazed at Little Feather with the proud look of a relieved father. “Little Feather, grow up quickly.”

“My path to becoming a T0 legend depends on you!”

...

Back on level B4 of Shelter 404, someone else had a proud smile on his face.

But it wasn’t because of Little Feather's changes. It was thanks to the books sorted out by the Merchant Guild.

With the help of the princess from the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Merchant Guild had significantly sped up its cataloging work.

Those books, written during the Prosperity Era and even earlier, were not only greatly helpful to his work but also to other members of the New Alliance.

As the New Alliance expanded, the number of issues to manage grew exponentially. Though many matters could be summed up in a single sentence, the actual process to resolve them could easily fill a whole book.

Those books they catalouged detailed prior generations' experience with how to actually do things, and what situations might arise thereafter.

Though the Prosperity Era had ended, its priceless knowledge shouldn't be buried with it.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Standing by the shelves, browsing through the books recently delivered by the Merchant Guild, Chu Guang suddenly found a sticky note tucked inside. On it was a line of neat handwriting.

There was no doubt about it... It was definitely left by Afrni.

[The book said that people distribute resources through markets, but the market turns people into slaves of money. Why don't we adopt a more efficient method to centrally distribute the resources everyone needs?]

He hadn’t expected that the little girl always sketching in her book would actually be interested in such dry academic matters.

Surprised, Chu Guang smiled and casually picked up a pen, writing his own note at the side.

[Humans can become slaves to anything they desire, not just money, but beauty, health, faith, honor, or power. That doesn’t make desire inherently wrong. If we were content with just food and reproduction, no one would’ve climbed mountains in search of fire, and we would never have discovered how to spark it with flint and sticks. Civilization wouldn’t exist.]

[Distributing resources through theocracy or monarchy isn’t nobler than through currency, and the other way around is also true. All of them are tools of distribution. People will always find better ways forward and abandon outdated ideas.]

[Still, your insight is commendable. I’m surprised someone your age would reflect on this. Even if desire isn’t inherently bad, we must guard against losing ourselves in it, forgetting our original purpose and burning down a forest to keep a single flame alive.]

[Especially when you’re the one holding the flame, or the power...]

If Somer had asked him that question, he probably wouldn’t have given such a candid answer.

Not because he was worried about Somer copying him...

Actually, if Somer really launched reforms in the Honey Badger Kingdom, it would likely be a good thing for the survivors there.

His worry was that Somer would absorb the New Alliance’s methods like a chameleon, then turn around and play political games while pretending to comply.

But Afrni was different.

She was only 18 years old, and she was a girl. Even if she held a role in the New Alliance, she would become a mere ornamental figure once she returned to her kingdom.

Even if she learned a few things from him, Chu Guang wasn’t worried. She might even influence the next generation of the royal family.

Transforming the Sunset Province through economics and education was itself part of the New Alliance's postwar plans.

The desert kingdoms weren’t beyond saving. They might even thrive after reconstruction. Moderate reform was better suited for them than radical upheaval.

Slipping the note back into the book, Chu Guang was about to return it to the shelf when he remembered it wasn’t a place people could enter to grab books. He smacked his forehead and tapped his VM.

Moments later, footsteps approached the door, followed by a clear chime.

“Come in,” Chu Guang said.

The alloy door slid open as his guard captain, Lu Bei, entered and crisply saluted with a fist to his chest. “Administrator, what are your orders?”

Chu Guang walked over and handed him the book. “Deliver this to the Honey Badger Kingdom’s office on Embassy Street, and give it to Miss Afrni.”

Hearing that, Lu Bei’s eyes lit up. He stood even straighter and accepted the book like a sacred relic. “Consider it done!”

Chu Guang was certain his instincts were right. That little asshole definely let his imagination run wild, so he cleared his throat and added, “I don’t want to hear any strange rumors.”

Lu Bei straightened up, putting on the most serious look he could muster. “I swear on my life! If there’s any gossip about you and Miss Afrni, you can shoot me!”

“That’s not necessary.” Chu Guang looked at him, half amused and half exasperated.

The kid wasn’t even fully grown yet, yet he was already gossiping about others.

Maybe it was time to appoint a more mature, stable guards captain.

The New Alliance’s population of survivors and players had grown significantly. He was considering forming the Third Corps to take in solo players who didn’t want to join player Corps and preferred to mix with NPCs.

Chu Guang intended to transfer Lu Bei there.

He was young, but his loyalty was recognized by everyone.

As his captain walked out, Chu Guang was about to return to the bookshelves when Little Seven’s voice suddenly rang in his ear. “Master, that mother body Falling Feather has been raising seems to have undergone a new mutation.”

“Little Feather?”

“Mhm!”

Hearing the confirmation, Chu Guang’s interest was piqued. He quickly went back to his desk.

Just as he sat down, a light-blue holographic screen opened before him and footage from the hummingbird drone instantly played out.

Looking at the combat-ready Little Feather on screen, Chu Guang’s face filled with surprise.

After a moment of thought, he said, “Inform Hyrja, schedule a physical exam immediately! We need to check on Little Feather’s evolutionary stage.”

To eliminate the slime mold on level B6, Little Feather would have to devour the mother body there. The prerequisite was understanding and mastering the concept of hunting.

Now... Little Feather clearly met that condition.

But what would happen when it met the mother body on level B6... That required more research.

Sitting on the coffee table, Little Seven swung its legs playfully and gave a cheeky New Alliance salute just like Lu Bei had earlier. “Roger that, Master!”

The Honey Badger Kingdom’s office was located in a corner of Embassy Street. Though farther from the city center, the building there was actually larger than the one in Boulder Town.

Its main structure was a three-story colonial-style house, with two palm trees in the yard, common to oasis environments and gifted to the royal family by the traveling merchants.

Although Oasis No.3 was occupied by enemy forces and the Honey Badger royal family had gone into exile, for those who once lived there, it was still home.