Damn it, something's wrong with the gacha I got.

“Okay.” Chen Bai nodded, and said succinctly, “Then let’s go over there.”

Upon entering, an almost excessively spacious area immediately came into view.

The atmosphere inside was completely different from the efficient hustle and bustle outside, filled with an almost stagnant tranquility.

On both sides of the office, several holographic projection portraits float silently, the figures in the paintings with deep gazes, as if they are looking at the visitors across time and space.

The most eye-catching feature is the uniquely shaped installation at the far end of the room. It stands quietly at the intersection of shadow and light, with austere lines and an inscrutable structure, silently exuding an aura of mystery that invites exploration.

While Chen Bai was still observing the room layout, Xing had already reached the portrait and was frantically clicking on it.

"This is the 83rd seat of the Genius Club. In her youth, she solved the solitary wave algorithm problem and the Spark model conjecture; in her prime, she discovered the transformation method of Sigma baryons; in middle age, she proposed the Black Tower sequence and published a paper on rejuvenation."

In her old age, she regained her youth, and in her youth, she once again unraveled the mystery of the flow of imaginary numbers, capturing and sealing away the core of an extraterrestrial star; Lady Black Tower saved Azure Star from destruction nineteen times, and twice paid homage to the Star God.

A voice from Black Tower suddenly rang out, briefly introducing Black Tower's background.

Chen Bai was slightly shocked, but it was also within his expectations.

After all, the genius setting in the game makes this resume stand out.

Although he didn't understand the solitary wave algorithm, the word "rejuvenation" caught his eye.

So... how old is the Black Tower?

"Is this guy really that amazing?" Xing was quite surprised after hearing Black Tower's resume.

"Xing, don't underestimate a genius. They are very intelligent. Although Black Tower is a bit arrogant, it has undoubtedly proven her ability."

Chen Bai smiled.

"Oh, then what is 'tsundere'?" Xing asked again.

"Uh~ being a tsundere is actually the kind of personality that's cold on the outside but warm on the inside," Chen Bai replied, organizing his thoughts.

At this moment, the black tower doll leaning against the wall suddenly activated.

"What tsundere? Stop dawdling and come here right now!"

Upon hearing this, the two walked up to the black tower.

She got straight to the point, without any pleasantries: "I won't beat around the bush with you, let's get to the point."

Black Tower's tone was calm but barely concealed his excitement: "Several colleagues and I are working on a groundbreaking project that could revolutionize our understanding. If successful, we will be able to solve the ultimate mystery that has troubled the wise man for thousands of Amber Ages—the mystery of the Star God."

At this point, her voice unconsciously rose, carrying the fervor of a researcher:

"You might as well think about how incredible the Star Gods are! There is evidence that some of the Star Gods were once mortals like you and me in the distant past, but for some reason, they gained power beyond our imagination."

Today, they are so powerful that they can reshape galaxies, as silent as the universe itself, and their very existence is awe-inspiring.

"The mysteries surrounding them are so numerous that I could talk about them for three days and three nights and still not finish."

Black Tower's gaze swept between Chen Bai and Xing, posing a series of more fundamental questions:

"And have you ever thought about how the Star Gods were born? Why were they born? And what was their purpose in being born?"

Faced with this series of fundamental questions, Chen Bai simply shook his head in silence.

Xing blinked, then said, "I haven't been born long, and I rarely think about such complex questions."

"That's not important. What's important is that we want to figure out the mysteries of the Star God, and now we need the two of you to participate in this project."

Black Tower waved his hand and continued:

"The club's four geniuses collaborated to write a program. See this huge machine?"

Black Tower pointed to the strange device beside him. "There's a universe inside the machine, just like the world we live in, only more streamlined and customized. I call it... the Metaverse."

Metaverse?

It sounds like they're just trying to ride the coattails of someone else's popularity.

Just as Chen Bai was thinking this, Xing suddenly said, "Let's not try to ride this wave of popularity, shall we?"

Chen Bai: ?

It looks like something broke.

Black Tower, however, didn't seem to care and replied:

"Really? The partners say so too. Actually, I quite like it... But I, Black Tower, will follow your lead. Let's call it [Simulated Universe]."

"Let's go experience it now. I'll guide you in the [Simulated Universe], and I guarantee there won't be any damage! I'll also pay you a large reward. So, which of you two wants to go first?"

Xing spoke up: "I'll go first. Let me, Galactic Baseball Man, investigate this thing."

Black Tower nodded and said to Xing, "Then stand there and the machine will read your brainwaves and automatically match you to the immersive simulation system."

Xing nodded and did as Heita said.

The Black Tower then manipulated the simulated universe, and soon after, Xing entered the simulated universe.

Chen Bai watched curiously from the side.

Although this simulated universe is somewhat different from his understanding of the "meta-universe," it is still a creation of a genius, and its technological content should be quite high.

At the same time, he was also quite curious about what extent this star core essence would be able to achieve.

The Black Tower appears to have guided the simulated universe's stars through a few simple actions before continuing to provide guidance.

“Now I’m changing both of your identities to Akivili. Go and fight the Antimatter Legion and see which simulated Star God will notice you first.”

Immediately afterwards, Xing began to wander around the simulated world and found a Trampler.

Then he grabbed the baseball bat and started hitting the stomper relentlessly, finally taking him down.

Then they took down several other types of pawns in succession.

Chapter 8 Chen Bai: The Meow Meow Stick is truly amazing!

Watching Xing having so much fun in the simulated universe, Chen Bai felt a little tempted to join in.

"Are you tempted?"

Black Tower's cold voice suddenly rang out.

He turned his head and met Black Tower's eyes, which seemed to see through everything.

"I..." Chen Bai opened his mouth, but before he could think of an answer, Hei Ta had already crossed his arms, a knowing smile curving his lips.

"Want to go in and try it now?" she asked, tilting her head with a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Can two people go in together?" Chen Bai couldn't hide his surprise.

In his mind, such a sophisticated device should only be used by a single person.

Black Tower tossed her long hair, the ends tracing elegant arcs in the air. "Of course," her voice rang with undeniable confidence, "this is a creation of genius, how could it be limited by such basic functions?"

These words were like a key, instantly unlocking the last vestige of hesitation in Chen Bai's heart. "Alright then," he took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, "I'll give it a try!"

"Stand on the platform, I'll adjust the parameters." Black Tower turned around and quickly started operating on the control panel, his fingertips flying like butterflies.

Chen Bai followed instructions and stepped onto the platform. As soon as he steadied himself, a soft white light enveloped his entire body.

The scenery in my field of vision began to distort and recombine, as if I were passing through a dazzling tunnel.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a completely new world.

"It's truly... amazing," Chen Bai murmured in admiration, carefully moving his hands and feet.

The tactile sensation at your fingertips, the gentle breeze in the air, and even the solid feel of the ground beneath your feet are all indistinguishable from the real world.

He took a deep breath, and even the feeling of his lungs filling up felt so real.

At that moment, a virtual version of the Black Tower suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Lady Black Tower?"

"It's me. This is my image in the simulation universe. I've already adjusted the parameters. Now you're entering the simulation universe as an individual. That little gray-haired guy is playing Akivilli, which forms a perfect control group."

The voice of the Black Tower came.

"So what should I do now?"

"You can wander around inside now. I've projected you into the background power of the space station. Let me see what happens."

"Ok."

After concluding his conversation with Black Tower, Chen Bai headed towards the main control area based on his memory.

The Black Tower space station in the simulated universe is exactly the same as the real one, but it is completely empty and there are hardly any people there.

"If this technology were in the original world, it would be incredibly awesome."

Mihoyo would probably have to cling to Black Tower's leg and beg for mercy.

Chen Bai was amused by his own imagination.

But this is the Star Iron world, not his original world. The dimensional barrier can't be broken again, can it?

Moreover, although this is a game world, it is also a real world.

He had heard of similar theories before, such as the upper narrative layer, and that the game world actually exists, but is received by people in the real world in a projected way.

Although these are just jokes from netizens, it's not impossible.

"Alright, what should we do next? We can't just keep wandering around like this, can we?"

"Alright, what should we do next? We can't just keep wandering around aimlessly like this, can we?" he muttered to himself, his tone clearly disappointed.

This was quite different from the thrilling adventure he had anticipated. Why couldn't he even see a single pawn? In the vast space, only the lonely echo of his own footsteps resounded.

However, even if he encountered a Void Soldier, given his current state, he would probably only be able to flee in terror, as those monsters are not to be trifled with.

Because the watermelon knife in his hand was taken by Black Tower for research.

"By the way, I wonder if I can open a gashapon machine here?"

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning in the darkness, instantly illuminating his thoughts.

He remembered the mysterious gashapon machine that had accompanied him since the beginning of his transmigration, a machine visible only to him.

This is undoubtedly his unique "golden touch" in this strange universe.

The last time we were in a critical situation, it was from inside that we fought against the antimatter legion.

As far as I can remember, after I finished using the gashapon machine last time, it seemed to go into some kind of cooling-off state.

Now that so much time has passed, perhaps it has been reset?

With a try-it-out mentality, Chen Bai held his breath and focused his mind, clearly sketching the image of the gashapon machine in his mind, and tried to issue a summoning command to it.

The next second, familiar faint light converged and intertwined before his eyes, quickly forming a semi-transparent virtual panel.

In the center of the panel is that retro-styled, brightly colored gashapon machine.

It floated there quietly, indistinguishable from the real thing. The most eye-catching feature was still the bright red button that occupied the center of the panel. Above the button, a white number "1" was clearly displayed.

"It works!" Chen Bai was overjoyed. "The number of draws has been reset. It seems that I can only draw once randomly for now."

His gaze was intense, focused on the red button, his heart filled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"What will we get this time?" he couldn't help but wonder, hoping for a powerful weapon.

Because this world also has many dangers, in addition to the antimatter legion, there are also the abundant evil creatures and the extreme fateful devils.

It would be quite troublesome if you didn't have some weapons to protect yourself.

With that thought in mind, Chen Bai pressed the red button without hesitation.

The virtual gashapon machine went completely crazy and then suddenly stopped.

A pop-up notification appears.

You have successfully drawn a red gacha capsule. Do you wish to open it?

Red gashapon?

Chen Bai recalled that the first gacha he drew was blue, and the color of the gacha likely corresponded to the rarity or level of the item inside. After blue came red…

Does this mean that the items I draw this time will be of a higher grade than the ones I drew last time?

"Open it!"