Chapter 22: Opinions Welcome, Adoption Means I Lose

In fact, Xu Zhi never expected things to develop this way. He knew from the start that it was a hardcore game, incredibly difficult to get into. Only those with professional knowledge in the field would likely be able to evolve species capable of barely surviving.

Its hardcore nature was undeniable; otherwise, Xu Zhi wouldn't have found it so troublesome and difficult himself, prompting him to seek help from others to evolve new species. Moreover, this wasn't a monster-slaying, level-up game; it was merely a casual evolution sandbox game. Its terrifying difficulty suggested it should remain quite niche.

But he hadn't anticipated that people would actually go so far as to study such profound and abstruse knowledge of species evolution just to play a game. Perhaps there's a group of hardcore players in this world who enjoy being 'abused'. Meanwhile, casual sandbox-building games have always had a large audience. Some players simply don't enjoy grinding levels or showing off; games like Stardew Valley and Minecraft are prime examples of this popular genre.

In the detailed, lengthy review, the comments below went wild. Within a short period, thousands of replies had accumulated, causing a complete sensation.

Hoops&Tunes: "I doubt it! Is it really that exaggerated? But it's so detailed, it sounds real."

Crazy Gamer: "Too hardcore. Start with a spore, and evolution relies entirely on biological knowledge?"

Sweet Little Punch: "Wow! As a struggling student, I really want to play this—unlimited possibilities!"

Super Tech Geek: "I guess this first player hasn't even uncovered the true content of the game yet, like the giant background character he mentioned, which I find very interesting... After all, the incomplete species he evolved didn't last long and went extinct."

Little Tiger Down the Mountain: "Currently reading 'On the Origin of Species'! Already acquiring evolutionary knowledge, comparable to a university biology professor. All I need is a spore to practice with, to test my evolutionary theories. I need a beta slot, waiting online, it's urgent!"

Some were expectant, some were frantically asking for slots, and some were eagerly expressing their desire to play—doesn't it sound fun just hearing about it? Of course, many more declared it a huge, century-spanning hoax, believing the hundred players were just acting, and they mockingly waited to see how long the original poster would keep up the pretense.

However, they were quickly and decisively proven wrong. This was because "Mount Akina's Speed Demon" had already started a live stream on the platform, linking the footage from his VR headset.

Before their eyes was a vast expanse of azure seawater, the realistic visuals akin to watching a magnificent, epic cinematic masterpiece of the ocean.

"Friends, I've just evolved eyes. This step is second nature to me now. Next, I'll start preying on algae organisms, transitioning to a carnivorous diet, following the evolutionary path of arthropods based on Earth's Cambrian period species evolution."

Just then, a ferocious crustacean approached.

"Oh my god, what is that? It looks like a Paleozoic trilobite, quickly eat it!"

"Eat it, my ass! Streamer, run! It's going to eat you, it sees you as food! Run, evolve cautiously and develop, and when you get stronger, evolve into a carnivore, then come back and make it your meal!"

In an instant, the chat exploded.

Xu Zhi watched for a while, finding the enthusiasm quite good. He decided to let them continue to buzz and ignore them.

As for the "petition signed by ten thousand people" demanding more beta slots...

"Think there are too few slots? What does that have to do with me? I'm not making money from you or benefiting from you by making this game. You can raise all the opinions you want; if I adopt them, consider it my loss."

Xu Zhi smiled, too lazy to bother with them further. "Let them fend for themselves," he thought.

He hadn't intended to focus much on this. After all, it was just a small project, and he hadn't expected it to cause such a huge stir in the gaming community. Even if they complained to the heavens, it wouldn't change anything; Xu Zhi simply wasn't keen on expanding. Why would he need so many people? He wasn't really serving them or creating the game for their entertainment. Unless an unexpected surprise emerged, he planned to keep it permanently in "beta," making it a niche game strictly for one hundred players, allowing them to slowly evolve potentially valuable species.

At this moment, while the online game "Spore Evolution" was wildly fermenting, Xu Zhi merely glanced at this small sandbox for a moment before shifting his attention entirely to the other, larger sandbox. That was his real work.

In the previous era of the Sumerians, strictly speaking, only three extraordinary beings like Gilgamesh appeared. For the next civilization, Xu Zhi wanted to see a mature, extraordinary cultivation system emerge. Ideally, a wizard civilization would evolve. The previous Gilgamesh had once enlisted court dark wizards to research longevity potions to extend his life. That was the rudimentary form of a wizard. Xu Zhi also hoped for the full emergence of a wizard civilization, with a great wizard skilled in alchemy, capable of researching witchcraft and potions, and creating a potion that could cure his own terminal cancer. Therefore, to establish this complete extraordinary cultivation civilization, it was naturally essential to include various mysterious and dangerous extraordinary species in the sandbox for the wizards to study and learn from.

After all, with the death of the previous generation's Zerg Mother Queen, all technological data had been cleared, and there was no high-tech medical equipment from Zerg technology available. To cure his illness, he now had to devise a way to re-deduce the sandbox and bring forth extraordinary, life-saving methods of his own.

Xu Zhi looked at the swampy mudland in the large sandbox.

"A day has passed, and the Big-Eyed Monsters and Evil Eyes have begun to breed in large numbers. Now, have they even evolved special individuals?" He was slightly pleased. Indeed, this bizarre evolution showed great potential.

Over a hundred years had passed. Since there were no natural predators in the newly opened environment, even such weak species proliferated wildly, spreading everywhere. However, soon, due to overpopulation, internal competitive pressure intensified, and food became scarce. For species with no external predators, their own population became their predator. They began to self-compete for food, savagely fighting each other in the swampy mudland, even devouring one another.

Gradually, the Evil Eyes became increasingly brutal. A unique Evil Eye emerged. It possessed a strange psychic power; any creature it gazed upon would be enchanted and obediently approach it, becoming its food. This first generation of extraordinary Evil Eye quickly rose to become the dominant overlord of the swamp ecosystem. With no natural predators, it began to reproduce wildly, preying on other Evil Eyes.

Survival of the fittest. The common Big-Eyed Monsters were quickly slaughtered in large numbers. The entire land was filled with the offspring of the enchanting Evil Eye, continually expanding their population—one, a hundred, a thousand. The ordinary Evil Eyes began to face complete extinction, becoming a thing of the past.

"An extraordinary species has finally appeared, with turbulent psychic power?" Xu Zhi was slightly startled. "Indeed, it has great potential. Although it lacks intelligence, it can already lure other creatures to become its food, similar to certain carnivorous plants that lure prey."

It wasn't until after the fourth epoch that the first extraordinary species finally emerged.

Xu Zhi's thoughts stirred slightly, and he suddenly looked at the large sandbox. Yet another significant development was underway: a group of insect-apes had ventured into the swampy mudland.