Shepherding Humanity

Xu Zhi had no choice.

Sixty years have gone by in the large sandbox. No hero had appeared to save the world and the orthodox witches were about to go extinct. He felt that he couldn't wait any longer.

Also, "Future Skywhale" was exactly the kind of person that Xu Zhi was looking for. With his calm personality and his love of research, he was the very image of the ideal orthodox wizard that Xu Zhi wanted.

As for a certain idiot, although he also had frightening talent, Xu Zhi didn’t even want to think about him. He was simply too erratic.

Xu Zhi murmured, "In this world, the era of the Three Witches is only the beginning, and the next era should be an era of Alchemy. Only then can I call this a truly great magic civilization ― Give me knowledge and I can move the entire world! True mages should be truth seekers who are passionate about research and alchemy. If you only cast spells, then how are you different from a hedge wizard?"

This worldwide crisis was the perfect opportunity to open the passage between worlds and introduce a visitor from another world.

Xu Zhi lightly smiled. To think that the hero of the third era would be an otherworld traveler.

What kind of waves would a genius scientist from the twenty-first century cause in the magic world in his orchard? What kind of alchemical life forms would he develop? Or would he be killed the moment he entered the sandbox?

……..

Meanwhile, in a private villa.

Future Skywhale was still unaware that a certain shameless and deceitful Creator was plotting against him behind his back.

He said goodbye to the maid who brought him food and put on his VR glasses again. After logging into the game, his vision turned pitch black.

"Please evolve your eyes."

This time, he had chosen to commit suicide and start over as a single-celled organism.

As a renowned leader in the fields of science and technology, he had great prestige and has already reached the peak of his life. There was nothing he desired, and his life felt empty. Still, he was a person with an extremely high position in society and naturally had ways to entertain himself. When outside, he was a dignified middle-aged CEO who was admired by countless people, but in private, he was a game addict and an absolute whale.

When inside the game, he occasionally let go of his dignity and joked around with others; no one knew who he was in real-life after all.

Over the years, he has lost interest in ordinary games, but when he encountered this unimaginably advanced game with its miraculous technology, he had been extremely shocked.

Because of this, he had consulted experts from all walks of life, and became even more aware of how amazing this game truly was. It was like a second world, and all its data was completely in line with reality!

He knew top professors in multiple fields of science, and had invested in countless research projects; no one would dare to offend him by turning him down if he asked for help. A team of scientists was quickly assembled and began modeling the evolution of species in real time.

Soon, he had in his hands an evolutionary blueprint that was more than a dozen pages long.

"Conjectures on Biological Engines and an Evolutionary Roadmap"

"I'm going to evolve into an engine and get an achievement reward. It'll be quite interesting." Future Skywhale murmured. He was probably the only one in the world who would spend so much on an Online Game, even going so far as to hire a team of word-renowned professors to help him with his research.

Next, he spent up to ten hours evolving his species.

Soon, a green Slime appeared.

Its body was round, with no torso and no limbs. It only had a mouth, a pair of round eyes, and an "ahoge" on top of its head. The “ahoge” tentacle was extremely strong and rippled with muscles.

He looked like a classic green Slime and was very cute and adorable. The ladies would love to have such a pet.

He was the ideal species designed by true professionals in the field and was both practical and good-looking.

As a gamer, he was one of those people who paid a great deal of attention to appearances and spent a lot of money on skins!

"Bro, I'm finally done, can you take me back home?"

He had trouble moving around and could only ask Akina’s Speedster beside him to carry him back on his delicious Pallbearer Chicken.

Akina’s Speedster laughed. "What a cute creature. You’re amazing! It's just like a Slime you often find in starting areas in classic RPGs…. So, I think you should call it a Starting Chicken."

This idiot!

Pallbearer Chicken, Starting Chicken… Are you that into weird names?

Future Skywhale didn't even bother to pay attention to him. He shook his head and said: "I’m not as amazing as you. You developed the Pallbearer Chicken all by yourself, while I hired more than a dozen experts in the field to help me with my research."

Each person was talented in their own way.

Obviously, Akina’s Speedster was a genius when it came to evolutionary theory. Among Future Skywhale’s friends, there were many professors who had been impressed when they learned of Akina’s Speedster’s accomplishments and wanted him to become an assistant in their laboratory.

Unfortunately, Akina’s Speedster was hopelessly addicted to this game and had turned down the opportunity to become a prestigious professor.

As for Future Skywhale, evolutionary theory was not his area of expertise and he could only find others to help him. He was a genius in the field of mechanics, electronic chips, and machine design; that was how he had built a huge tech-based business empire.

"Bossman, do you want me to put you in the wooden car you built?" Akina’s Speedster asked.

"Do it."

Akina’s Speedster nodded. Many players had gathered around them to watch.

"Wow! Will this be the next creature to get an achievement?"

"It's possible!"

"It's so cute! The last one was delicious, while this one is so cute, they all have their own characteristics."

This round and cute creature was placed in a ready-made wooden car.

Where the engine should be, there was a crude turbine designed specifically to be operated by tentacles.

Whew!!!

The Slime started spinning the turbine.

Like the Evil Eye, it had a simple structure that was extremely specialized. It existed only to eat and spin the turbine.

Boom!

The wooden car gradually began to move.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Akina’s Speedster became super excited and gripped the driving wheel. "Bossman, you’re too amazing! Spin it faster, I want to show off my driving skills! Watch my 360 degrees turn!"

The Slime took the place of an engine and was only responsible for providing power. Naturally, the car needed a driver.

"Bossman, go to second gear!"

Future Skywhale nodded, and spun the turbine harder with his tentacle. The speed of the car instantly rose.

"Third gear!!!"

The speed of the wooden car rose again. Whooping excitedly, Akina’s Speedster performed a beautiful drift.

The surrounding players were stunned, and the number of posts on the forum went up like crazy.

Haruko Loves to Learn: "Too hardcore! The car’s speed is completely voice controlled! Even modern cars can’t do that yet. You’ve transcended modern technology! (?)"

Hands Off: "This engine has amazing potential! While other engines run on gasoline, your engine runs on meat and vegetables…. You no longer have to worry about the environmental pollution caused by gasoline. It’s super eco-friendly! Your bio-car is far ahead of the times!"

Cerebral Bluff: "The Bossman is gradually losing sight of his original goal. Didn’t he want to evolve into a skywhale? Look at him now, he is completely addicted to climbing the biotech tree and spends all his time researching cars."

Cute Girl who wants to Evolve into a Dragon: "He’s clearly got his priorities straight. Look at that muscular arm! That arm is ten times stronger than any arm in history! It’s enough to make any woman swoon! (?)"

………

An animated discussion started. This really was too amazing.

There was now a bio-car that surpassed modern technology? This game really had an amazing amount of freedom and infinite possibilities…

No wonder it was so hardcore, and only those with specialized knowledge could play.

At that moment, a notice appeared.

[Global Notice: Congratulations to the player ‘Future Skywhale'. His bio-engine has great potential and has gained him an achievement reward.]

Everyone was excited. It really worked.

Future Skywhale stopped pulling on the turbine and the car gradually stopped.

The three options from before have also appeared before him.

One, make the Slime the initial starting race.

Two, get a permanent game account.

Three, start a second life.

…..

Everyone was excited about his decision.

After a moment's hesitation, Future Skywhale quickly made his choice. He had already made up his mind long ago.

While the first option was indeed amazing and would save him a lot of work, he felt that it would be a waste to pick it.

This game was super realistic, and if you changed the terrain, then that change would be preserved by the system. Furthermore, after your ‘King’ dies, the remaining members of your species would still remain in the sandbox as an untamed species.

Though they would quickly go extinct without anyone to direct their evolution, he could still raise a bunch of "engines" in his yard even after death. Even if he would no longer be able to control their evolution, they should still be useful.

"Unlike the Pallbearer Chicken, this creature only has a single function. It would be completely pointless to make a species that can’t even move around my starting race." Future Skywhale murmured. "The second option might be the most attractive one for ordinary players, but it's redundant for me. With my abilities, I have no fear of being eliminated…"

His eyes gradually drifted down towards the mysterious third option: Start a second life.

"A second life, huh?" Future Skywhale took a deep breath. While the term ‘second life’ may be meaningless to others, it touched something deep inside him. When he saw this option on Akina’s Speedster’s livestream, he had instantly made up his mind to get an achievement reward. "I've already reached the peak in my current life, and everything’s so boring… "

"I hope you'll give me a pleasant surprise."

He silently selected the third option.