Chapter 16: Third Biological Mass Extinction

A colossal flood, like a magnificent white waterfall, cascaded from the highest heavens. Surging relentlessly, it engulfed mountains, rivers, and the entire land.

"What terrifying power.""In an instant, a great flood descended, destroying the world."

On the deck, countless merchants, nobles, commoners, and slaves sighed in awe and shock. They were among the kindest and most peace-loving of people. God sent the flood to cleanse the sinful land, ensuring that the barbaric, tyrannical, guilty, and impolite would all be swallowed by its waters.

This day of the world-ending deluge was named the Day of Disaster. Utnapishtim, the last beacon of Sumerian civilization, guided the remaining Sumerians onto the final Noah's Ark, escaping the great flood.

In an uninhabited corner of the vessel, the appointed historian tasked with chronicling Sumerian civilization briefly hesitated. Clutching his quill, he awkwardly slumped onto the deck, still deeply absorbed in the vision of the magnificent deity.

"Our world, with its vast heavens and solid earth, was created by God in just seven days. What immense power this is..." Akkad's hands trembled, his aged eyes clouded with tears.

He began to silently complete the account of God's seven days of creation using his own imagination. Taking up his quill, he added the final records of God's seven days of creation to the Sumerian epic, "Genesis":

Day One: God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God separated the light from the darkness, calling the light 'day' and the darkness 'night.'

Day Two: God said, 'Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water,' and so the heavens came into being.

Day Three: God said, 'Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And the waters and the dry land were separated. God called the dry land 'continent,' and the gathered waters 'seas.'

Day Four: God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night.' Thus, the sun and moon began their alternating cycles, and this world had fifty years of day and fifty years of night.

Day Five...

Day Six...

Day Seven: All things in heaven and on earth were complete. God rested on this day and blessed the preceding six days.

In the days that followed, people came to regard this historian's imaginative account as truth. It was as if, during the great flood, the Creator God had indeed appeared before mortals to explain the seven days of creation in detail. But why would a deity condescend to explain the specifics of world creation to lowly humans? Yet, people were more willing to believe the story of God creating the world in seven days, as recorded in this Genesis.

In the story, God rested on the seventh day of creation. People called this legendary day the Day of Rest, or the Holy Day, thereby establishing a custom in this land where people also chose to rest on this day.

The great flood descended from the sky. Buildings were swept away, collapsing like fortresses made of building blocks, and all traces of Sumerian civilization were washed into the ocean.

Xu Zhi sprayed for a long while, and only after ensuring nothing was left behind did he stop the high-pressure water gun, quietly turn off the switch, put it away, and store it in the utility room, stacking it on a wooden shelf.

Thus, everything was reset once more. The relentless slaughter and overpopulation by the insect-apes had nearly ruined the sandbox. Now, with a pair of each species left, the entire sandbox would eventually restore its former ecosystem. He hoped that after this, they would learn their lesson and avoid becoming overly cruel, barbaric, or overpopulating again.

The sub-brain beside him remarked, "Even if you didn't destroy them, they would self-destruct. They would consume and annihilate all other species before perishing themselves. By then, the sandbox would have suffered immense losses. It's better to usher in a new beginning now."

Xu Zhi exhaled deeply, "I'm not as fragile as you imagine. I don't need comfort; I just feel a little down."

The sub-brain continued: "As a Hive Queen, who propagates countless subjects and races, you are a great creator. You should be accustomed to the rise and fall of innumerable species, and not sigh for them."

A vein pulsed on Xu Zhi's forehead as he corrected, "I am a man, not a Hive Queen."

"There's no need to elaborate; they are all spores you propagated one by one—" The Hive Sub-brain was about to defend its assertion.

"Stop! In any case, birth control for the insect-apes is crucial!" Xu Zhi immediately cut it off, settling into the chair by the yard gate and silently nibbling at the fruit he had just peeled, taking sporadic bites. "Tomorrow, I'll go to town and buy two catties of fruit. With stomach cancer, I need to be kinder to my stomach."

He picked up his black notebook, which he hadn't touched in a long time, and began to jot down some notes.

"This is the Age of Giant Beasts. Originally, I wanted to name this epoch the 'Beast Era,' drawing a parallel to the 'White Era' of dinosaurs, where enormous animals roamed. However, since the Sumerians recorded it as Genesis, then I might as well... call this epoch 'Genesis' as well."

On Earth's timeline, the comparable period was the "Late Cretaceous Mass Extinction," where a meteorite strike from the sky annihilated the dinosaurs. Here, it is a sky-borne flood that destroyed the giant beasts and insect-apes. In my evolutionary history, I will name it the "End of Genesis Mass Extinction."

He organized his thoughts, and after the Dark Martial Era, the Light Martial Era, and the New Life Era, he turned to the fourth page. On it, he wrote the name of the fourth epoch, "Genesis," providing only a brief description for this period of history:

Genesis: Intelligent species emerged. The Wise Ape tribe developed tribal city-state civilizations, drove out the giant beasts, and became the dominant power of this epoch. However, their cruelty and barbarity were intolerable to the heavens. A great flood descended from the sky, annihilating all living beings, initiating the third mass extinction, which wiped out ninety-nine percent of life.

After recording the third mass extinction, Xu Zhi went to sleep.

The next morning, as he woke up, washed his face, and brushed his teeth, he felt a terrifying, surging power spreading throughout his body. Alarmed, he immediately set aside what he was doing to examine his own physical structure.

"This power is...."

Xu Zhi looked at himself in the mirror. His height had inexplicably increased by several centimeters, reaching a full 1.83 meters. His facial features had become more refined and handsome, imbued with an elegant and profound demeanor. His physique was robust and well-built, surprisingly akin to the perfect forms found in Greek sculptures, a truly model figure. Yet, when clothed, he didn't project the overt brawniness of a typical muscleman.

He had a body that was muscular when undressed but appeared lean when clothed.

Xu Zhi felt his physique, with its full and streamlined muscles, already rivaled that of the perfect Hero King, an epic hero. It was simply too perfect.

"Is this the power feedback from the third mass extinction? Compared to the previous two, it's infinitely more powerful... I feel as if I could now rival some top athletes."

Xu Zhi clenched his fists, feeling a surge of explosive power, and couldn't help but whisper, "My physical capabilities have improved immensely."