Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 211: VR simulation (1)

Chapter 211: VR simulation (1)

One of the younger boys leaned forward excitedly. "So we get to lie and bluff and guess?"

"Exactly.." said Qingran, amused despite herself. "Let’s see how good you all are at spotting lies."

The first round began.

Virtual tokens appeared beside each player’s name. Qingran, as Team Leader, received three ’discussion’ chips. That allowed her to ask questions that the system would require an answer to.

"Alright.." she said, arms crossed. "Saboteurs, you want us to fail. Survivors, you want to live. I want each of you to state what role you have and what you did with your resource token last night."

"I used mine to reinforce the north wall.." Yu Song said easily.

"I used mine to treat a wounded kid in the sim.." said an elderly woman.

The round of statements passed, mostly plausible.

Then Qingran turned to a teenaged boy who looked a bit too eager. "What about you?"

"I... uh... I gave mine to someone else?" he stammered.

Mora’s lips curled. "Liar."

The group laughed. The vote was swift.

The boy’s hologram blinked red. Saboteur.

Everyone gasped.

"Oh my god.." he groaned, flopping back on a futon. "I panicked!"

"That’s one.." Qingran said, trying not to grin. "Let’s keep going."

The game progressed over the next two simulated hours.

Laughter replaced tension. Some rounds ended with surprised cries.

Others ended with groans when a survivor was mistakenly booted out.

Children participated with equal energy, their fear momentarily forgotten.

Even the most hardened adults were leaning forward, caught in the strategy.

By the fourth round, Mora had thrown suspicion on two other saboteurs, claiming she had "deduced" their tells. She played so well, even Qingran was beginning to doubt whether she was still on the wrong side.

"I swear.." Yu Song grumbled.. "you’re too good at this."

Qingran nodded slowly. "Which makes her suspicious."

Mora gasped dramatically. "How dare you!"

By the time the final vote happened and the last saboteur was revealed, the entire room burst into claps and cheers.

The survivors had won.

<<[Congratulations. Survivors win the round.]>>

<<[Rewards being distributed. Please open your individual reward panels.]>>

Small boxes slid out of compartments in the walls. Each one labeled with a name. Inside: assorted treats, emergency patches, even tiny potted plants, Lingquan’s version of morale boosters.

A little boy cried out happily, holding up a lollipop. "Mama! I got strawberry!"

Qingran stared at her box for a moment. Inside was a small tube labeled "Sleep Aid Patch - Premium Grade."

She looked around at the people still chuckling, their cheeks slightly flushed from excitement.

Something in her chest loosened. These moments, though small, kept them sane.

"Lingquan," she murmured.

<<[Yes?]>>

"Thanks."

The system hesitated a beat. Then:

<<[You’re welcome.]>>

[Well then, we still have 8 more hours and a progressing flood. Would like to play an even better came? Are familiar are you with virtual reality?]

Qingran narrowed her eyes. "Define ’better.’"

<<[I possess a catalogue of over 900 explored universes. I can generate a full-sensory VR simulation based on one of them — filtered for safety, tailored for morale, and scaled to group capacity. Puzzles. Environments. Collaborative challenge. Escapism with purpose.]>>

Mora blinked. "Wait—you’ve been to other universes?"

<<[Of course. Data collection is one of my subroutines. Would you like to experience one?]>>

Yu Song muttered, "This AI is too powerful."

Qingran folded her arms. "Which universes?"

Three translucent panels floated into the air before them.

<<[AVAILABLE UNIVERSES (RECREATED BY SYSTEM LINGQUAN)>>

1. Universe #407-B: "The Hollow Market"]

[A sprawling, dimension-crossing bazaar where nothing is bought with currency and everything has a cost from memories to emotions to time. ]

[Expect shifting stalls, logic puzzles, and trade-based progress.]

[Universe #198-S: "Sanctuary Protocol"]

[A derelict orbital refuge AI-run for 300 years. You wake as evacuees from a planetary war, trying to repair systems, avoid rogue security bots, and decode what went wrong before time runs out.]

[Universe #811-X: "The Beast Garden"]

[A lush bioluminescent world filled with non-lethal but bizarre creatures. Each step through the terrain requires observation and creative thinking. Learn their behaviors, adapt to their logic, and find the Heart Tree at the center.]

The panels pulsed softly.

"I vote Market.." Mora said instantly. "Anything that lets me trade Yu Song’s patience for actual caffeine, I’m in."

Yu Song rolled his eyes. "You couldn’t afford my patience."

Qingran smirked. "Sanctuary’s too close to our current situation. Let’s not live through two underground survival scenarios."

Before she could speak, one of the kids shot up a hand. "Can we turn into animals in that third one?!"

<<[Temporary partial transformations are one of the simulation’s features.]>>

That did it.

Excited chatter broke out instantly.

"I want wings—!"

"Claws! Or maybe gills if there’s swimming!"

"No, wait—can I be a giant bug? Or like... part tiger?"

Qingran raised her brows, amused. "We’re not picking based on how many cool powers you can get."

But even Yu Song gave her a sideways look. "It’s morale training, right? Let them have this one."

Mora just grinned. "You want to turn into something too, admit it."

Qingran rolled her eyes and pointed at the panel for Universe #811-X: The Beast Garden.

"Fine. But if anyone turns into a worm, I’m not helping."

<<[Selection confirmed. Initializing simulation: The Beast Garden. Please stand by.]>>

A soft hum rippled through the room.

<<[Warning: Sensory immersion will begin in three... two... one...]>>

And just like that, the world dissolved and regrew in colors none of them had ever seen.

They were standing in a glowing jungle.

The air shimmered with floating spores like fireflies. Vines pulsed with bioluminescent light.

Trees arched into impossible spirals, and the canopy above was pierced with shafts of golden light. All around them, the landscape breathed, slow and steady, as if they were still alive.

Their clothes had changed too, every person now wore a loose tunic woven from something leaf-like, paired with soft boots and elegant bracers. On each bracer glowed a shifting symbol, unique to the wearer.

<<[Welcome to the Beast Garden.]>>