[Evaluation complete, obtained evaluation level: C!]
[Meets completion criteria, obtained trait 'Born Villain (Green)'.]
Seth stroked his chin.
He felt that his performance in this simulation was clearly better than the previous script. He basically made no major mistakes, and in the end, he wasn't counter-killed. According to the previous scoring standard, the evaluation level should have risen one level to 'B'.
But the system still gave him a 'C' level.
'System, I performed better in this script, so why is the evaluation still C? Explain?'
The system quickly explained.
[Each script, in addition to the base difficulty, has varying hidden difficulties based on different character backgrounds, and hidden difficulties also affect the final score.]
Seth understood now.
For a simple example, if the script background is during wartime, the completion difficulty is undoubtedly much higher than in peacetime.
Another example: dealing with Jingliu, that crazy yandere beauty, is definitely more dangerous than dealing with Qingque, the laid-back slacker.
These additional elements involving characters, backgrounds, etc., in the script are obviously important factors affecting the simulation difficulty.
Alright, to be fair, Qingque's script was indeed simpler; he even cleared it in one life.
Now he had accumulated two C-level evaluations, and Seth decided to use them all.
'Slow and Steady' upgraded directly from white to blue, and the effect would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced, significantly increasing his leveling speed in simulations, equivalent to indirectly reducing the difficulty.
As for the green 'Born Villain', using a C-level evaluation to upgrade it was a bit wasteful, but during the Qingque script simulation, everything went smoothly with almost no difficulties or unexpected situations. It must be 'Born Villain' taking effect.
In Seth's understanding, the 'Born Villain' trait was equivalent to adding extra luck when he did evil.
Luck, though invisible and intangible, is incredibly important.
For example, in a certain Holy Grail War, no matter how strong your attributes are, if your luck is too low, you'll suffer badly. One second you're happy, the next you're forced to commit suicide—what a tragedy.
Moreover, this is the Villain Simulation System; the system's name clearly tells him how to choose.
Seth used the two C-level evaluations to upgrade 'Slow and Steady' and 'Born Villain' to blue quality.
The description of 'Slow and Steady' didn't change at all; its effects would need to be tested.
As for 'Born Villain', the success rate of doing bad things increased from 'small' to 'medium'.
A whole simulation session, followed by checking rewards and upgrading traits, took quite a bit of time and consumed a lot of Seth's energy and mental strength.
Seeing that it was getting late, Seth directly closed the system interface, fell onto the bed, and fell asleep.
He slept soundly and peacefully, straight through until dawn.
…
Qingque, also on the Xianzhou Luofu, couldn't sleep at all.
She had just had a dream.
Because the dream was so realistic, Qingque couldn't even tell if she was dreaming or in reality.
She actually dreamed that...
Qingque couldn't help but shiver, subconsciously hugging her chest with both hands.
There were still two or three hours until dawn, but she was too restless to sleep.
Finally enduring until dawn, Qingque didn't even wash up and left home in a daze.
Today was her day off. According to her usual routine, she would meet up with a few good card friends at the card hall and play Celestial Jade all day long.
But now, as soon as she thought of anything related to Celestial Jade, her brain would automatically recall last night's incredibly realistic nightmare. The painful memories instantly poured over her like ice water, chilling her to the core.
If she hadn't already arranged to meet her card friends at the card hall, she wouldn't even want to go there.
Qingque dawdled all the way and finally arrived at the card hall. Her card friends had been waiting for a while.
"Qingque, why are you so late?"
"Qing Zong, you're usually the first to arrive. Did you change your ways today?"
Qingque mumbled a response, and her friends didn't mind, urging her to hurry up and join the table.
"Hurry up and get on the table; we've been waiting for you forever."
"Yeah, let's go; today we're battling three hundred rounds!"
Listening to the clashing sounds of Celestial Jade and looking at the neat piles on the table, Qingque's brain uncontrollably started replaying the memories from the nightmare.
She kept losing, losing all her credits, losing her property, losing her job, and finally losing even her dignity as a person...
The nightmare-like memories surged like waves, one after another. Qingque's face turned pale, and she subconsciously clutched her chest, breathing rapidly as if she couldn't catch her breath.
Her card friends noticed something was wrong with Qingque and quickly gathered around.
"Qingque, what's wrong?"
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Should we take you to the Alchemy Commission?"
Qingque took a few deep breaths, trying to steady her breathing, then looked at her friends with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, I'm really not feeling well today... You guys play; I'll go see a doctor. I won't hold you up."
"Are you okay by yourself? Let me go with you."
A friend who was closer to her showed a concerned expression.
Qingque forced a nonchalant wave.
"It's fine! It's fine! I probably just ate something bad; minor issue."
After a few more polite words, Qingque quickly walked out of the card hall.
She wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but the moment she stepped out of the card hall, she felt the air was much fresher.
Qingque took a few deep breaths, her complexion gradually regaining color, and her wildly pounding heart slowly calmed down.
Qingque couldn't help but look back at the card hall behind her, her heartbeat accelerating again, scaring her into turning away immediately.
Qingque shook her head gloomily. It seemed that until she forgot last night's nightmare, she couldn't touch anything related to Celestial Jade.
After one last glance at the card hall's sign, Qingque left the front of the card hall with a depressed expression.
Her favorite Celestial Jade couldn't be played, her mood was down, she didn't want to go home, and she had no idea how to spend the whole day off, so Qingque wandered aimlessly through the streets of Exalting Sanctum.
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Boss, give me a bowl of red oil chopped beef offal, and a cup of soda bean juice."
Qingque's eyes instantly blazed with fire.
No mistake! It was this guy! This voice—she would never forget it even if her demonic yin body erupted!
After waking from the nightmare, Qingque reviewed her memories and quickly realized Seth had set her up, luring her to keep losing her chips, step by step into the abyss of gambling addiction.
Anger completely overtook Qingque's reason.
"You bastard!"
Without a word, she stepped forward and grabbed Seth by the collar.