Shepherding Humanity

Xu Zhi left the players alone after reopening the sandbox. If they decided to complain any further, then he would simply shut down the game.

He had gone out to practice magic, and felt as if he had just taken an evening jog. His muscular body was covered in sweat, so he went to take a shower, and emerged from the bathroom with only a blue pair of shorts on.

Xu Zhi was looking forward to seeing what would happen after the introduction of the Phoenix and a new species to the sandbox.

A few hours had passed, which meant that a few decades had gone by in the large sandbox. This was not long enough for anything major to happen, and so he had nothing else to do but silently browse the forum to see what was going on inside.

Last time, Xu Zhi had only found out about a certain idiot’s plot against him by chance. Had he not been browsing the forum when Akina’s Speedster posted, then what kind of tragedy would have happened? He might have been poisoned without ever knowing it.

Apparently, it was really important that he spy on the enemy camp.

At this time in the forum, aside from furious complaints about the suspension of service on the second beta test's opening day, the players were mostly talking about their tragic party wipe and the horrible pain they had experienced.

Xu Zhi silently looked on.

Cerebral Bluff: "I think that this boss battle will go down in history as the gaming world’s biggest tragedy this year!"

Haruko loves to learn: "The veteran players sure didn't lie to us newbies. They said they'd surprise us, and they sure did! They have reverted back to spores and have joined us at the starting line (?)."

…..

The forum was full of bitter complaints. The veteran players from the first beta test had failed to conquer the boss, and the results had been brutal.

Some players who had died started to describe their miserable deaths. It hurt so much they had cramped up from the pain. Their bodies convulsed, and they had been so scared that they peed themselves.

One of them described his death in most graphic terms as he tearfully wept:

"Aaaaahhhh!!! Suddenly, I was screaming loudly in my room, spasming and convulsing, with tears streaming down my face. My mother was so scared she was crying! Mom asked me what I was doing. I was only playing a relaxing game that promoted learning, so how did I get so hot and sweaty? Why was I crying? Was the game really that moving?

What was I supposed to say? I was really desperate too! I ended up saying that I had an epiphany while studying Darwin’s evolutionary theories, and was twitching and crying from happiness!

Honestly, my mom is still very proud of me. She keeps bragging to the neighbors about how awesome her son was to be able to play such a phenomenal game: “In order to get a beta tester’s slot, tens of thousands of people wrote research papers, and my son's thesis was among the fifty that passed! He has gained $600,000 worth in learning materials! He is a credit to the Liu family! Even a lot of graduate students from professional colleges can't compare to my son!”

It used to be that getting addicted to games was frowned upon because it would cause children to neglect their studies, but this game has become a social phenomenon and is now a status symbol among parents. They see it as an indication of their son's hard work, how dare I tell the truth?

Also, the boss hasn’t died yet, and is still sitting in the yard eating apples as usual. He has probably already warmed up his lunch box and eaten the Pallbearer Chicken, but the poison had no effect at all. (?)"

"Seeing the thread owner's miserable state, as an onlooker, I can’t help but laugh. Hahahaha! (?)"

"I share your pain and am crying along with you, it hurt so much I peed my pants."

"My wife asked me why I was in tears and all I coud say was: I love this hardcore game so much!"

The internet was full of people sharing their painful experience.

In what way did they look miserable?

In another part of the forum, there were players who started uploading photos of the book of "Genesis" that they took in the boss battle. They posted the photos of the five long eras one by one, and caused many to become intrigued. People began to comment on the mystery, saying that it was probably part of the world’s background setting, and may lead to a hidden quest line.

Future Skywhale: "In this world’s background setting, have there been many civilized eras before we came along? Are we a nascent civilization of the sixth era, the age of spores? Later on, will we be able to evolve into humans along with various other species? Are each of us supposed to create our own race, build a new world, and form our own civilization?"

"F*ck, what a frightening degree of freedom!"

Many agreed with this point and said that they were super excited.

There were many hot topics about this game, and the people began to animatedly discuss its background setting. What was that giant black notebook?

Another noteworthy point was that the first extraordinary species has been born and acknowledged by the Achievement System.

As soon as the players logged on, they got a system alert.

[Global Notice: Congratulations to the player ‘Akina’s Speedster', who had evolved the Pallbearer Chicken. This species has great potential and you have been rewarded by the Achievement System.]

This server-wide notice suddenly appeared, and caused a huge stir in the forum.

"Bossman, take some pictures and show us the reward."

"Although your species couldn’t poison the boss, it was clearly super strong, otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten this notice. Bossman, you’re amazing!!!"

"Three cheers for the Bossman! Since the game developer is so generous, the reward must be amazing! Please tell us what it was, or I’ll be so curious I can’t sleep tonight."

…….

The comments piled on at a crazy speed.

Akina’s Speedster was also confused. I got a reward?

I've been trying so hard and have even started to lose quite a bit of hair, but I’ve finally succeeded?

He now felt that the pain of being cooked in the oven was worth it. He hurriedly put on his VR Glasses, and immediately logged into the game and opened up the live streaming platform.

He gave his room the name :

"Live streaming now! The mysterious reward for evolving a new race!"

In an instant, countless people flocked into the room, their numbers passing 600,000. Even the people who couldn't play the game were in high spirits, hoping for some eye candy.

Akina’s Speedster logged into the game, and saw on the game interface that there were three options he could choose from as a reward.

One, he could choose to make the Pallbearer Chicken a permanent player character. Each time he died, he could choose to be reborn either as a spore or a Pallbearer Chicken.

Akina’s Speedster was ecstatic. He was so excited that he laughed out loud: "I can finally choose my starting race! Damn, I’ll no longer have to evolve from spores after I die, and can restart as a Pallbearer Chicken."

This reward was amazing!

Two, he could get a permanent account, and would no longer have to participate in the elimination game.

Three, he had the opportunity to experience a second life.

…..

When they saw the three options, everyone was jealous and started to animatedly discuss them.

"The first option is amazing. It turns out that in this game, the reason most players can’t select their initial starting race yet is because they’ll have to evolve it themselves."

"Doesn't this mean that the initial race of every single person in the future will be different?"

"To the above poster, you're thinking too much. The big-name players will certainly have a lot of species to choose from on their game interface in the future… But weaklings like us won’t be able to evolve a powerful species and will have no choice but to start as spores."

"Too hardcore! Can’t touch that, really!"

"The second one's actually pretty cool too! A permanent game account is equivalent to just giving you $600,000 worth of computing resources, $600,000! That’s so generous of them!"

"I don’t understand the third one."

"Same here. It’s a mystery option."

While the others were discussing the three options, Akina’s Speedster was frowning. He was also trying to decide which one to choose.

The first one was obviously very good.

Not having to start over as a spore was great. Although starting as a Pallbearer Chicken would limit his possible evolutions, it could still evolve and level up as a species, becoming even more poisonous.

The second option, which seemed the most tempting economically, was quickly crossed out by Akina’s Speedster.

He felt that would be equivalent to taking his pension and retiring to the countryside. With his skills, he was confident that he wouldn't be eliminated from the game. He hadn’t gone bald for nothing.

The third option though… starting a second life?

"What does this mean?" He frowned, and decided that it was too risky. After hesitating for a moment, he decisively picked the first option.

The game’s start screen slowly changed, and two choices appeared.

1. Start life as a spore.

2. Select your race ―― Pallbearer Chicken.

Akina’s Speedster silently clicked on “Pallbearer Chicken”, and the screen scattered like snowflakes, turning into a beautifully designed blue screen with a large red rooster inside. You had the option to change the rooster’s gender and appearance.

The live feed instantly exploded.

"Wow! The Bossman is awesome. It’s finally like other MMOs, and you can select your appearance and race. You’re not like the rest of us, who all have to start as a single-celled organism!"

"This game is getting scarier by the day. Now, you'll even have to evolve your initial starting race yourself."

Akina’s Speedster ignored the jealous players and silently adjusted his appearance, while inwardly feeling very proud of himself. He made a super handsome rooster and logged into the game, appearing in the giant sandbox.

He was in high spirits and began to evolve again. He was soon leading his own species and directing their evolution within the sandbox.

Boom boom!

At this time, the giant just happened to be passing by. The ground shook.

He happened to see the flock of Pallbearer Chickens on the ground, and exclaimed: "Hey, isn't this the food from last time? They taste delicious, I should grab a few and make soup for my midnight snack."

The giant bent down.

A giant hand descended from heaven.

In one fell swoop, it abducted most of the Pallbearer Chickens.

Akina’s Speedster: "???"

People viewing the livestream: "???"

Akina’s Speedster felt like he had been kicked in the balls, and was full of resentment. This was very bad!

Why did this boss's behavior pattern have to use such miraculous technology? He can even interact with the players! And he’s also holding a grudge? Does this mean that I’ll be a part of his menu from now on, and he’ll grab a few Pallbearer Chickens each time he passes by?

He despaired.

If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have evolved to be so delicious. Not only did I fail to poison him, I’ve also become an item on his menu. At this moment, Akina’s Speedster was full of regrets. He shouldn’t have chosen this option, who knew that the option would turn out to be so deadly?