Chapter 345: System

System life...

This reminded Xu Zhi. During the fifth internal test, there was a paper on a "system" submitted by a new player. It was a pseudo-silicon-based life form! He remembered it clearly; the extensive discussion had made his scalp tingle. Overall, it was a highly anticipated potential species at the time. He hadn't expected it would take so long to finally emerge.

Xu Zhi thought for a moment and pulled up the player's profile. Soon, the intelligent sub-brain began its work, and an image quickly appeared: The image showed a muscular, bronze-skinned man, tall and imposing like a mountain, with bulging muscles, yet possessing a somewhat cute, doll-like face. "What a man!" Xu Zhi immediately gave a thumbs-up.

“I didn't expect this player to be the muscular type…” Xu Zhi became curious on the spot. In his mind, evolution players were typically sickly, pale-skinned, sparse-haired individuals who rarely saw the light of day. This one was clearly different, paying great attention to physical fitness. A mechanical voice reported: “Empress, based on gender identification, in human terms, this is a female.”

Xu Zhi: “…”

What the heck, a woman… These muscles? These abs? These powerful, thick thighs, all taut with muscle—one slap could knock a person out! But upon closer inspection, just looking at the head, it was indeed a pure and lovely baby face, complete with cute pigtails. However, everything below the neck… This muscular 'brother' with a baby face strikingly resembled Nezha from *One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes* in physique. “Pull up her details,” Xu Zhi said, taking a deep breath, feeling his worldview shatter.

“Pan Xuexian, 21 years old, top fitness coach, human nutrition expert, medical expert, combat expert.” A fitness coach? No wonder such massive muscles… Typically, men train for muscle mass, while women train for shaping, aiming for a slender waist and thin legs. But this person? It seemed she might have trained incorrectly, perhaps mistaking herself for a man? Xu Zhi felt speechless. Potential species for players were currently scarce. Could he really only place his hopes of a savior on this muscular 'brother'? After all, Cute Girl was not a fighter, and other ancient Heavenly Emperors like Thunder Emperor were no longer true living beings, constrained by the power of incense, making it difficult for them to regain their youthful vigor and drive.

He re-examined the data and was instantly shocked. “I knew something was off. She can't possibly understand evolution. It turns out this player is getting special treatment!” He saw a familiar name that had been missing for a long time: Pan Yuxian! The 28-year-old brilliant professor, who was previously Pandora’s Box. This influential figure, though taciturn and never uttering a word on the forums, had even secretly entered the game initially, pretending to be a native inhabitant, and no one knew she was a player until her 'death'. Given how quickly she evolved Pandora’s Box, her talent in evolutionary theory couldn't be much lower than Akina Speed’s. Akina Speed spent centuries in the Wizard World studying evolution and even created an alchemy factory. How could she, as one of the first players, not be up to something? As Pandora’s Box, she must have also been researching evolutionary theory, preparing the next potential creature to enter. So, she was working on system life all along?

“I knew something was off. A system is a silicon-based life form, essentially a supercomputer. Upon closer inspection, it's clearly an advanced version of the previous Rubik's Cube creature, even similar to her Pandora’s Box.” However, what surprised Xu Zhi was that Pan Yuxian had actually handed over the results of her evolved species to her younger sister. She must have known that a species represents a tremendous opportunity; most people wouldn't give it up! Moreover, this was the fruit of her centuries-long research. “I really don’t know what she’s up to, but then again, these two sisters… they’re both eccentrics,” Xu Zhi said, feeling a little helpless. “Can’t I get some normal people?”

In a room plastered with Charlotte posters, two computers sat side-by-side, and two women, wearing devices, were propagating life within the evolution sandbox. Inside the sandbox world, Pan Yuxian was personally guiding her sister in evolving a potential species, but they had failed many times over several days. “How stupid!”

After a while, they both removed their devices. Pan Xuexian, her sister, spoke with a full, resonant, and somewhat clumsy voice: “Sister, if we don’t evolve a species soon, with you helping me like this, I’ll be eliminated from the next internal test.”

“It’s fine,” Pan Yuxian, with her mature and voluptuous figure, put down her device. “Even if I get eliminated, I can get back in within minutes. In the entire sandbox, when it comes to evolution talent, Akina Speed is first, then I’m second… and Cute Girl can only rank third or fourth.”

Pan Yuxian had kept a very low profile among the players, knowing that 'the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled.' Looking at her sister’s physique… It was truly an eyesore! Her arms were thicker than Pan Yuxian’s own thighs! Their parents were both highly educated intellectuals, so how could they have given birth to someone whose head seemed filled only with muscles and an adventurous spirit? She had been rebellious since childhood, refusing to study, free climbing, summiting Mount Everest, diving into the deep sea. Now, she had even become a fitness coach. With her broad shoulders and thick waist, who would dare to want her? She had once sent her sister’s portrait out for a blind date. The cute, loli-like face with pigtails attracted countless men, who flocked to her. But when they met her in person, seeing everything below the neck… Their legs went weak from fright! A tall, burly, bronze-skinned muscular ‘brother’ stood there, exuding such an intimidating presence. It was enough to make anyone wonder if they should be afraid. Pan Yuxian herself had a headache.

Pan Xuexian said with her full, resonant voice: “I’m pursuing my own life! And you have the nerve to talk about me, Sister? You’re an antisocial, introverted, and gloomy person, locked in your room all day, not saying a word to anyone. You say no one would want me, but who would want you?”

Pan Yuxian was speechless.

“We both pursue strength. You prefer mental strength, and I prefer the strength of my fists. As for cute girls like you… I could beat ten of you single-handedly, and you’re so cute, you’d probably cry for a long time.” Pan Xuexian struck a defiant pose, flexing her bronze muscles, tall and imposing. “If the apocalypse comes, I could pick you up with one arm and, grabbing a fire axe, lead you through hordes of zombies.”

Pan Yuxian rubbed her temples, collecting her thoughts. “Once you become a pseudo-silicon-based life form, you should have powerful computational abilities similar to a mechanical computer. This potential pseudo-silicon-based creature was tailor-made for you.”

From the moment she became Pandora’s Box and spent time within it, she began to deduce and develop this species. Its potential was immense, and it was also very suitable for her sister. Although her sister had poor talent in evolutionary theory, she had, after all, inherited the family’s genes and was very gifted in the field of fitness coaching. After all, she loved this field, and being a top fitness coach was not that simple. One needed to understand muscle and bone movement, human anatomy, human biomechanics, nutritional supplementation, and exercise methods to specifically guide people in training their arm muscles, thigh muscles, biceps… Only by understanding various muscle groups and the essence of exercise could one teach effectively according to individual needs.

“You are essentially the most knowledgeable person in modern times regarding body mechanics, exercise, and internal structure. As a system, with ultra-fast computations, you can enter and deduce many things…” This was Pan Yuxian’s plan! There were two cultivation systems: one focused on spiritual cultivation (Dao Cultivation), and the other on physical cultivation (Body Cultivation). In modern society, it was impossible to find someone comparable for Dao Cultivation. But for Body Cultivation? Her sister, with her mastery of human myology, biomechanics, and muscle groups, was the perfect fit! This made fitness coaching the most helpful modern profession for Body Cultivation.

Pan Yuxian said: “You should be the strongest fighter. I’ll send you in first, and I’ll find a way to help you establish a foothold. I’ll then find time to evolve a species and enter myself later. We sisters… we’ll both flourish!” She told her sister, “What do we have to pursue in modern society? This game is definitely not just a game! It’s a real second life, and we must strive hard! Some other players don’t understand, but those who have been inside have definitely realized it. Everyone is competing, and we two cannot fall behind. With one of us focused on brains and the other on brawn, we are far more formidable than them.”

Like Akina Speed and Cute Girl, she clearly knew that she was a researcher and evolutionist who couldn’t fight, so she had to find ways to protect herself. Akina Speed protected himself with an alchemy factory. Cute Girl wanted her disciple, Dao Changsheng, to protect her. As for her… she had a muscular 'brother' of a sister. Now, it was her turn to enter. Originally, she was a step faster than Cute Girl, but her sister, whose mind was full of muscles, required hand-holding throughout the evolution process, which is why it took until now to succeed…

“But… it’s truly an eyesore!” She secretly glanced at her sister’s bronze muscles again. Her chest had even developed into pectorals, incredibly firm, making her feel quite daunted. “By the way, what did you say we should call this creature?”

“Just call it… The Strongest Bragging and Face-Slapping System.” Pan Xuexian was clearly different from her sister; as a fitness coach, she was very outgoing. “I want to go in and teach the delicate girls in that world to exercise! Girls, seriously, don’t always rely on men to protect you—rely on this!!” With her cute pigtails, her towering, bronze-skinned physique stood up, exuding the aura of a powerful beast. She raised her arm, flexing her well-developed, strong biceps. “Sister… A daughter should be self-reliant!”

Pan Yuxian: ???