I really can't control myself.

Chapter 4096 Torture
"Shimizu Ritsu, I have no grudge against you, do I?" Takaoka Yūnori, who now knew Shimizu Ritsu's name from the simulation, roared somewhat out of control, "Why did you drag me into this? Do you know you're courting death?"

"Pull you in? Judging from your tone, in the future you see, are you also..." Shimizu Ritsu gleaned some information from the other party's words.

"..." Takaoka Yūnori didn't know what to say, because he was completely fooled during his first simulation since he knew nothing about it.

The reason I say "pulled in" is because Takaoka Yūnori did indeed join Shimizu Ritsu's reckless clique. Why? Because Takaoka Yūnori himself practically begged and pleaded for it.

Because Takaoka Yūnori had no idea who these guys were fighting against.

In the simulation, Shimizu Ritsu told him that they were facing a formidable enemy and were currently preparing to confront it. He wasn't lying, but how could Takaoka Yūnori know that the formidable enemy he was referring to was Linton?

He never even considered the possibility that anyone would dare to betray Linton; wouldn't that be courting death? Even in the simulation, he didn't have such thoughts. He wondered if Linton had assigned Shimizu Ritsu an impossible task, causing her to become somewhat neurotic.

So for a while, he tried everything to persuade her, expressing his willingness to work with Shimizu Ritsu and try to find a solution together. He really couldn't stand being stuck in that chair like that for so long.

Having to press a button every 9 minutes—what is this if not torture? Shimizu Ritsu gave him an alarm clock so he could keep track of the time himself. In other words, he was constantly facing the threat of being electrocuted. Although it wasn't physical torture, it was definitely mental torture.

Even Shimizu Ritsu didn't consider how he would sleep at all. According to Shimizu Ritsu, "You figure it out yourself."

Of course, as an awakened ability user, Takaoka Yuzuru's mental strength is far superior to that of ordinary people, so going without sleep for a few days wouldn't be such a serious problem. But it's not just about not sleeping; once a person starts to become sluggish, even a moment of distraction could cause him to miss the button's activation time, resulting in him being electrocuted. Under that kind of mental pressure, he simply couldn't withstand it.

That's right, in less than a day, he had already begged and pleaded with Shimizu Ritsu to join him. He was willing to do anything. Just tell me who he wanted to join.

However, Shimizu Ritsu didn't tell him specifically who he was dealing with; he just kept saying it was a formidable enemy and that he should help him, all the while laughing. At the time, Takaoka Yūnori didn't understand what the other person was laughing about. Of course, he soon did.

Of course, we should also explain why Shimizu Ritsu begged him for an entire day before letting him go. It was because Shimizu Ritsu repeatedly asked him about predicting the future.

When Takaoka Yuzuru entered the simulation, it was Shimizu Ritsu who asked him to foresee the future. He woke up immediately before 10 minutes had passed in the simulation, and then he was in big trouble.

It's obvious that Ritsu Shimizu knows the ten-minute future time, so in the simulation, Ritsu Shimizu seems unwilling to cooperate with Yuzuru Takaoka, since he hasn't entered the precognitive state at all.

The problem is that Takaoka Yuzuru is already in the simulation, and you can't start another simulation while it's in progress, so he's essentially lost his abilities in the simulation, right?

So, in the simulation, he had absolutely no idea what the future held, especially since this first simulation left him completely bewildered. Meanwhile, Shimizu Ritsu insisted he tell her what the future held, to which Takaoka Yūnori replied, "I truly cannot do that."

Since it was a simulation, Takaoka Yusuke wasn't afraid of revealing his abilities, so he quickly explained them to the simulated Shimizu Ritsu. His so-called future prediction was just a simulation, and this was actually his first simulation, so he had no idea what was going on and couldn't know what the future would hold. So, can you trust Shimizu Ritsu?
In the simulation, Shimizu Ritsu obviously couldn't believe that the world he was in was a simulation. So what evidence do you have to prove that? In Shimizu Ritsu's view, Takaoka Yuzuri was simply playing tricks and refusing to cooperate, so he... of course wouldn't be polite.

Takaoka Yusuke was genuinely exasperated. Seriously, how was he supposed to prove this? This proposition was practically like proving the world was fake—it was utterly impossible to prove!

Fortunately, He Xinchangping returned after the two argued for a while.

Although Shimizu Ritsu had been questioning things, he also had some doubts. The main reason was that Takaoka Yūnori's words were just too sincere and earnest.

It's fair to say that his attitude didn't seem like an act at all. As mentioned before, Shimizu Ritsu judged Takaoka Yuzuri to be a rather cowardly guy, easily intimidated. However, this time he genuinely seemed determined to die rather than submit, a stark contrast to his initial assessment.

Based on his years of interrogation experience, he had a feeling that this guy really confessed. If he was acting, then he was just too good at it.

Unsure where his judgment went wrong, he could only consult with He Xinchangping to see what his assessment was.

He Xinchangping was quite surprised after hearing the whole story. So the ability to foresee the future was actually a simulation ability? He was actually starting to believe it, after all... Takaoka Yusuke's side was crying in distress.

On one hand, there was the mental pressure of being electrocuted at any moment; on the other hand, there was the intense interrogation by Shimizu Ritsu. Takaoka Yuzuru felt like his whole body was about to shatter. Judging from his behavior, he was completely on the verge of collapse, the kind of person who wanted to reveal every single one of his personal preferences.

Even He Xinchangping felt that he was telling the truth.

But... do they really believe this is a simulated world? What will they do then? They don't think their world is a simulation; they are living in this real world. If someone tells them that this world is a simulation, will they just go and die peacefully?

He Xinchangping then stated that the plan would continue, but he simply couldn't get a clear answer as to how much time they had left, and the struggle would continue.

As for Takaoka Yusuke, since he says this world is a simulation, then that can be proven. If you know this world is fake, then why don't you be the first to die?

Of course, He Xinchangping did not mean that Takaoka Yusuke should commit suicide, because if he was telling the truth, then dying would not bring back any useful information.

What message was Takaoka Yūnō supposed to bring back? It was when Linton would arrive. Even if Takaoka Yūnō was telling the truth, he should at least bring that message back.

So the plan continued, only for the time being kept secret from Takaoka Yūnori, allowing him to join. You said it was a simulation, so this isn't going to kill you, right?

(End of this chapter)