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I'm Contaminated With No Hope Of Recovery
Chapter 9 - The Missing Berry

Chapter 9 - The Missing Berry

[You reluctantly pass directly before a juvenile tyrant sloth, pretending not to realize the danger. You are frightened, but you know that you are following in the footsteps of the last simulation and are shielded somewhat from harm.]

Lem breathed an internal sigh of relief. Just as before, the tyrant sloth had not attacked him. Still, it had been a nerve wracking few seconds, as the implications of failure were tremendous.

It appeared that the path from the previous simulation was still safe.

[You still worry for the health of your mind and the fact that you are on the brink of dying, but you have the strange hope that encountering a spiritual berry will save you…

You pass by mushrooms. Fearing they are poisonous, you do not eat them…]

[Day 7: Your mind has become impaired due to lack of vitality…]

Lem was beginning to notice the signs that his actions were starting to deviate from normalcy. Now, it had been confirmed by the screen.

Still, it was progress, as his mental state had become affected two days later than in the first simulation.

His senses had also degraded to a similar state, leaving him with a reduced, blurry perception.

He knew that it was nearing the end of his second simulation.

[Day 10: …You know that it is the day you will encounter a spiritual berry. Your rations are running low, but you eat freely…

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You run out of rations…]

From within his body, Lem was acutely aware that his decisions were made with less and less logic.

Even if he hoped to get the spiritual berry, there was still a need to stretch the rations out.

Now, they were gone, and all he was left with was the hope of getting the berry.

Lem watched as the day continued.

At the point where he remembered finding the berry, he saw that the bush was empty, and he felt disappointment.

It seemed that item rewards were taken from reality and would not reappear.

This had serious implications for the future.

However, in the present, it was also clear that he could not continue to harvest the same item over and over again.

Lem begrudgingly accepted the new information, but it appeared that his simulated self still had not understood.

[As night begins to fall, you realize that you have not found the spiritual berry. In your impaired state, you feel confused and betrayed…]

[Day 12: …You have not eaten for two days. You are beginning to hallucinate due to hunger and weakness. You think that you are back in the village and begin mumbling to yourself.]

Lem felt some annoyance, as the simulation once again entered a state where his body was too disoriented to perceive anything meaningful from its environment.

It constantly sent signals of pain, as it bumped into trees and vines.

It spoke sentences that made little sense and were addressed to people who were not present.

Lem just wanted the simulation to end, so that he could harvest the rewards and start over again.

[Day 13: As you wake up, you realize that you lack the strength to walk. You chose to stay in place rather than crawl away…

As you lie on the ground, you slip in and out of consciousness…]

[Day 14: You lack the strength to move. Your senses are heavily impaired, and you are only occasionally aware of your surroundings. You are consumed by the evil power within you and die.]

[Simulation ends.]