Shepherding Humanity

The invincible Creator who transcends space, time, and dimensions…

Xu Zhi was sitting in his yard basking in the sunlight and eating melons. At this moment, he didn’t know what to say.

I’m only a First Level Wizard and a hard working farmer in the countryside. I’d die from a single gunshot. How can there be such a weak Creator?

"So I’m omnipotent now? Thank you for all the flattery."

Xu Zhi calmly smiled. "But thanks to the Hive Mind and the Tyranis spores, I can evolve countless new species… I’m confident that I'll become a true Creator sooner or later.

I do not know if I would be able to meet your expectations at that time, but I’m far too weak right now. Even when I’m just relaxing in my yard, those crazy bastards in the sandbox are constantly trying to rebel and give me a hard time. And I’m also suffering from cancer…"

He knew better than anybody how weak he truly was. He was merely a young farmer, and not any kind of Creator like those wacky players expected.

According to the Hive Mind, various countries have been roused into action.

They’ve noticed the amazing potential of this sandbox game and have started to make their moves behind the scenes.

They all adopted similar measures and established secret research centers to conduct in-depth research on this "Spore Evolution" sandbox game.

"Is every country studying my little orchard?"

After Xu Zhi heard this, he was a little uneasy. "Although I knew that I’d attract global attention sooner or later by publishing this game online, I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

He had always been bold, but now, he was somewhat flustered.

It was fine if the players in the small sandbox and the natives in the big sandbox wanted to cause trouble. Xu Zhi was used to it by now, and didn’t mind spying on them or matching wits with them all day long… But why are even real-world superpowers joining in?

He hurriedly checked the information that the Hive Mind has given him, and began to spy on them:

"Let me take a look… They all believe that this game is a product of miraculous alien technology.The aliens have come in peace and do not seem to have any evil intentions, and their nation must be the first to seize this risky opportunity. If they could set foot in another world, then they would have taken the first step into the space age!"

Xu Zhi spied on the secret research centers around the world and found that they all had the same long-term goals:

"Develop a colony! Cross into outer space! Occupy the other world! Bring Earth into the space age!"

Even now, renowned experts were standing before the game screen while excitedly telling the leaders of various countries these kinds of predictions: "The appearance of another world is a great opportunity for us! Earth will enter the space age and colonize the stars! We must not let other countries get the jump on us!"

Pfft! ! !

Xu Zhi spit out the fruit he was eating!

? ? ? ?

WTF! ! What's going on!

Although they found it hard to believe, according to all the gathered data, this other world was a real world, and a certain Emperor of Alchemy had easily conquered it…

It was an underdeveloped and backwards world of magic. Theoretically, any modern person who transmigrates would be able to rule over the magic using natives with technology.

This was a fertile land full of gold that’s just waiting to be harvested!

They all wanted to become the next Emperor of Alchemy and expand their nations’ territory by colonizing another world!

Furthermore, each of them had a vague idea of what would come next: The nation whose representative became the next Emperor of Alchemy would gain control over the other world, and by researching its magic civilization, its high-level mages, and its heavenly gods, it would become the number one nation on Earth!

"What amazing ambition." Xu Zhi was speechless, "They’ve become greedy after seeing the Emperor of Alchemy’s scientific accomplishments in the other world."

The space age has come. It's time for mankind to head out into the endless cosmos and colonize other worlds. It’s suddenly turned into that kind of a sci-fi story.

He was in a daze. He felt that he’s received more shock today than the entire past year.

"They all want to take over the other world and turn it into a colony of their own country… but that means that these f*ckers are trying to take over my orchard!

You want to make my orchard yours?

You goddamn robbers! Colonialists! Shameless world powers!

My family orchard is more than a hundred acres and cost me almost three hundred thousand yuans in land commission! It’s super expensive! You think you can just take it away? "

Xu Zhi tried to look innocent before bursting into laughter, "But in another half a year, the contract for the land will end, and it’ll no longer be my orchard. I’ll have to renew the contract, but I lack the money…"

He was indeed quite short of money. Very much so. If he couldn’t renew the contract for his orchard, his “Spore Evolution” sandbox might soon become homeless.

"If these superpowers know that they went through all this—each of them spending tens of billions of dollars to establish a research institute with the highest priority level in their nation—just to take over a small rural orchard, they’d be quite dumbfounded, right?"

He sat in the orchard and calmly peeled his apple.

I should just ignore them and continue farming in peace. Their feelings are none of my business!

Xu Zhi’s family was one of the wealthier ones in the village, and he also used to be a young and promising employee of a foreign company, but he was now unemployed. His savings were disappearing too quickly, and he had to find a way to make money. The land commission was a problem.

It took a while for Xu Zhi to calm down. He took a deep breath and told the Hive Mind:

"I can’t let them do as they please inside my sandbox…

After all, it’s still part of my family’s orchard and something I’ve worked hard to develop."

Initially, Xu Zhi simply wanted to drive these troublemakers away and keep them from disturbing his sandbox world.

Let them be as dumbfounded as they pleased, it wasn’t his problem. They can't do anything anyway.

But he changed his mind. "Wait, I should just ignore them, and let them do as they please! Perhaps in the future, after I’ve created countless sandbox worlds, I might be able to realize their ambitions…

Earth will enter the space age! And start exploring the multiverse!

—This great moment will be recorded in history!

Countless Earthlings will weep with joy as they watch their leaders give tearful speeches on the TV: ‘That's one small step for mankind, one giant leap for Earth’s civilization…’

We are about to enter the space age, and countless other-worldly civilizations beckon…"

Xu Zhi smirked. "But in fact, they’ve never left Earth and are actually in my orchard, slaving away for me as worker ants… It's an amusing thought."

Xu Zhi felt that the kind of future that they’ve envisioned was too far away.

This tiny little sandbox was not enough for them. That’ll have to wait until he’s actually made a “multiverse” with multiple sandbox worlds. He might need more manpower to help him evolve new species then.

At that time, perhaps he’ll give each of them a sandbox world to rule over, and let them start “Interdimensional World Wars” with one another. By invading each other through the “Passage Between Worlds”, entire nations will be able to get rid of their accumulated grievances in his orchard.

What an amazing thought!

Furthermore, wars advance civilization.

But at the moment, I can't dream that far ahead and must treat my cancer first. I must finish laying down a stable foundation for my alchemical civilization.

The end goal was already in sight. Xu Zhi turned his attention towards the sandbox before him.