Shepherding Humanity

Xu Zhi quickly walked out of his yard, and stood chatting with Chen Xi by the gate.

"What are you actually doing? Do you really like farming that much?"

As Chen Xi curiously looked inside the courtyard, she saw nothing besides a bunch of healthy vegetables growing in the garden, and could only mutter: "Hey! I'm very angry right now. Am I not pretty enough for you? Even though you have such a pretty girlfriend, you don't ask me out on a date very often."

Xu Zhi replied: "Don't I often go shopping with you and ride around with you on your scooter every morning?"

Although Chen Xi was a little unhappy, Xu Zhi was not very sorry. He felt he spent enough time with her.

Xu Zhi was not a complete shut-in who only did farm work at home. He also went out for a walk every morning, and rode around town with Chen Xi on her scooter. He found it quite relaxing.

Still, he felt that farming was much more interesting than going on a date with his girlfriend.

"That doesn’t count. You only spend an hour a day with me, then you farm all day long." Chen Xi huffed in dissatisfaction. A blush appeared on her cute little round face, and she continued in a small voice: "I've studied very hard to be a good girlfriend, you know? I’m very serious about dating. Could it be that I’m not charming enough?"

"What were you studying?" Xu Zhi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"No laughing! Laugh again and I'll hit you. I’m trying to learn because I have no experience, alright? And! I have to go back to school in four days." Chen Xi was very angry, but she quickly lost her energy after that and went on sadly: "Summer vacation is going to end soon."

Xu Zhi was a little dazed when he received the lunch box.

Before he knew it, summer vacation was already over. His ‘battle’ against those idiotic players had occupied all his attention, and he only came back to his senses just now.

Honestly, he has grown used to receiving a lovingly prepared meal each day. These idyllic and carefree days he spent with Chen Xi in the countryside had been wonderful.

Chen Xi’s feelings towards him were very clear. She had come to him at the lowest point in his life, and offered to become his girlfriend and accompany him through his final days.

"So does this mean that after today, I won’t get any more food?" While Xu Zhi was indeed moved, he was a realist to the very end.

"Even though I’m this sad, you’re still joking around!"

Chen Xi angrily glared at Xu Zhi as she laughed and scolded him: "So that’s why you made me your girlfriend! You just wanted free food! Don't worry, after I leave, your aunt Li will help you prepare your meals."

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, and said: "A long-distance relationship is nothing these days. We have video calls."

"That's not the same thing! It's completely different!" Chen Xi stubbornly insisted. She acted as if they were a young couple about to part forever. "A long-distance relationship does not really count as dating! And you're about to die! I won’t be able to accompany you in your final moments and stay at your bedside to say goodbye."

Xu Zhi: "…"

Can you please stop mentioning the fact that I’m about to die!

You complain about my inappropriate jokes, but you’re worse than me!

Xu Zhi felt that the two of them were equally matched. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "By the way, have you heard of the game "Spore Evolution"?"

"Nope." Chen Xi was baffled.

She was a pure and beautiful girl, and only played casual and relaxing games; she could not stand violence. Or so she claimed, anyway.

"This game is a casual sandbox game. It’s very relaxing, and has a great degree of freedom, like the world building game Minecraft. Have you ever played Minecraft?" Xu Zhi smiled.

"Minecraft? I’ve played that before." Chen Xi nodded this time.

Xu Zhi said, "I’ve heard that this game uses miracle technology, and is a completely realistic second world. If we can meet there, then it’ll be like meeting in reality. It’s much more realistic than a video call."

"Really?"

After a moment of astonishment, Chen Xi rejoiced: "A completely realistic second world? We can meet there?"

Xu Zhi thought about it and said: "However, you have to fulfill certain requirements to get a beta tester’s slot. You’ll have to write a scientific thesis on natural evolution."

Chen Xi was dumbfounded. She stared at him suspiciously. "Scientific thesis… Are you sure that this is a casual game?"

"It's fine, I can handle that part."

Xu Zhi comforted her. "You only have to download the game after you’re back in your college. I'll hire someone to write the thesis for you, and help you get a beta tester’s slot. When the time comes, you can just log in…. However, the computers in your college shouldn't have the specs to run that game, so I’ll buy you a new one. A 20,000 yuans laptop should be enough."

"Love you! I love you so much!"

Chen Xi excitedly kissed Xu Zhi on the face. She immediately started blushing afterwards and ran away in embarrassment. "We can be together again!"

Xu Zhi stood at the gate for a moment. He touched the spot on his face where Chen Xi had kissed him and laughed. "Sure enough, young girls cannot resist money accompanied by sweet words."

If he couldn't even fulfill his girlfriend's small request, what kind of Creator would he be?

For him, getting a beta tester’s slot couldn’t be simpler.

However, buying a laptop that was high-spec enough to play the game would be costly. He had 100,000 yuans in savings, and would be left with only 80,000 yuans after that.

"Money might be a problem. I don’t mind spending it all, but I’ll need to find a way to make money." Xu Zhi was not worried though, there should be plenty of ways for him to make money.

Usually, when he went out on a date with Chen Xi, they mostly walked around and enjoyed the scenery while chatting.

In the future, they’ll move their dating spot to the miniature world in the small sandbox. The scenery there was not bad. The two of them can walk around hand in hand and enjoy the beautiful scenery as they watch the players’ funny antics, and the many strange species that inhabited the land.

That place was a beautiful fantasy world.

After comforting Chen Xi, Xu Zhi smiled and went back with his lunchbox. His heart felt light. He had done what he could for his girlfriend, and it was time for him to return to his serious work.

…..

In the compound on the other side of the gate.

"What's this?"

The players exclaimed in wonder.

"Genesis? Why would this term appear in our game? Is this part of a hidden quest line? Or a part of the background setting of the game world?"

The players excitedly commented. They felt as if they had discovered a new continent.

Sure enough, this game had an amazing amount of freedom, and was like a real world. Every hidden clue had to be investigated. The players felt that their actions just now had triggered the main plot!

Yes!

They must have triggered a cutscene!

All the players here were veterans of MMORPGs

They naturally knew that most online games had a background setting: the fantasy games of the West and the xianxia games of the East all had epic storylines. They should have triggered one of the storyline’s cutscenes just now.

"To think that this game would also have a background setting… I thought it was simply a sandbox game where you evolve from spores!"

"The design team may be super hardcore, but they really put a lot of thought into this!"

The bizarre creatures of all shapes and sizes raised up a ruckus as they stood on the page of the giant notebook. They were super excited.

"Enough! Stop wasting time, and hurry up and turn to the next page! Let’s see what's written in this Book of Genesis! Motherf*cker! Guys, this game is so f*cking hardcore! We even have to turn the pages ourselves to trigger the storyline cutscene!"

After that, under the leadership of Akina's Speedster, the crowd pooled their strength and hurriedly turned to the second page, only to see the three words: "The Dark Age".

“During the Dark Age, the world was plunged into 5,000 years of darkness as the sun set and the moon rose in the sky. This sudden change drove 99% of marine life to extinction. The Blue Moongrass, which could photosynthesize moonlight, became the sole surviving species. They quickly reproduced, flourished in the dark ocean, and became the masters of this era.”

"Could this be a super-ancient epoch?"

The player’s faces quivered.

"Don't take too long! Hurry up and film it with the recording function of your VR glasses. We can think about it later. If you delay any longer, the giant boss will be back… On to the next page!" One of them growled urgently.

Many players started, they had been in a daze from all the excitement. Their nerves were fried.

It was simply too exciting! It felt so exhilarating to sneak behind the giant’s back!

An instant later, they turned to the next page, and saw the three words: "The Radiant Age".

“With the coming of the Radiant Age, the world abruptly changed. The moon set and the sun rose. Thus began a five thousand year long period in which the sun blazed in the sky. The Blue Moongrass which had dominated the Dark Age started dying en masse, and one of its weaker offshoots, the Violet Herograss rose to become the protagonist of the new era!”

The crowd was completely unnerved, and hurriedly turned to the next page.

This time, it was "The Revival Age".

“The Revival Age ushered in new life. This era saw the explosive birth of many animal species. The appearance of the first marine animals started an age of great prosperity and heroic competition. Invertebrates relied on their hard carapaces to dominate the ocean for a time, briefly becoming the masters of the era. Then vertebrates were born, and with their superior dexterity, they defeated the invertebrates, and became the true masters of the Revival Age, ruling for many long epochs!”

What was this?

They couldn’t really understand, and felt a little lost.

The background setting of this game seemed incomprehensible to them, but they felt like it had an extremely large worldview. The game had a great degree of freedom and there was so much they haven't uncovered!

They turned the next page, to the fourth era of history, and were completely stunned.

“In the Age of Genesis, the first intelligent species appeared. The Bugape tribes developed civilization, built city-states, expelled the giant beasts, and became the masters of the era. But they were cruel and violent, and so heaven sent down a great flood, ushering in the third extinction event and wiping out ninety-nine percent of all life.”

There had been intelligent life!

A city-state civilization?

A great flood from heaven?

A third extinction event?

Seeing this, the players completely lost their composure. They hurriedly turned to the next page, and saw the line of text that Xu Zhi had just written down about the ongoing fifth era.

“In the Age of Magic, magicians started appearing in great numbers, and became the rulers of the era. In this age, Hermes, the God of Wisdom, descended from heaven and conversed with mortals, helping the Three Witches to open the way forward. In the year 198 of Babylon, the Three Witches had reached the end of their lives, and heaven sent down miracles to mourn their passing…”

What was this?

Their minds went blank. They felt as if a vast and magnificent game world was slowly revealing itself before their eyes.