Chapter 38: This Group of Players Really Plans to Take Me Down!

Xu Zhi was still very much looking forward to it. In fact, the appearance of a single Evil Eye had brought so many unexpected delights that he hoped for more such extraordinary species. After all, there were plenty of talented people online. For him to evolve countless species and create a world alone was simply impossible; it was too complex and required infinite wisdom. He could only leverage the intelligence of others to help him establish a complete sandbox world.

The second beta test had actually begun much earlier. Just as Xu Zhi was eating breakfast and seeing off the three witches, a group of fifty new beta players, who had passed the screening process, had already entered the sandbox, starting their dark and unknown evolutionary journey. The existing players had also entered the sandbox.

"Holy cow, the second beta test has so much more content now! There's even intro music."

"Yeah, it's much richer now. They even have cutscene music right from the start – Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Does this symbolize our difficult lives as evolving spores?"

The old players discussed animatedly. In their small sandbox worlds, they also heard the music bidding farewell to the three witches, which resonated throughout the vicinity. The new players had clearly done their homework. They entered the game at 5 AM when the server opened, and four hours later, they had already evolved eyes and were looking around in amazement at the thriving ocean, brimming with species.

"This is truly virtual reality, complete with full physical sensations! It's a real second world!"

"Hahaha, I feel like I'm covered in the scent of RMB! Every word I say, every evolution I undergo, even the environment I interact with, uses 600,000 worth of computing resources to render this real second world for me in real-time!"

A bunch of silly players. You haven't spent a single penny. This is my yard, okay? Do you really think this is a virtual game world?

Xu Zhi sat quietly in the courtyard, eating an apple, with his legs crossed, looking at the distant sandbox. He resembled a feudal landlord supervising his tenants, saying, "Get moving, all of you! Create all sorts of species for me."

A group of ant-like evolved creatures also noticed Xu Zhi, their overseer, and couldn't help but observe secretly, whispering among themselves:

"Holy moly! We finally saw the legendary giant with our own eyes; he's really huge."

"He's eating an apple again. Is it some hidden quest? I want to go join the fun; maybe I can get a hidden spore evolution class."

"Don't bother. The old players have all tried, and they usually just get crushed. Not to mention, this game is so free; there's so much we haven't uncovered yet. It's truly mysterious."

As the second beta test began, the first batch of beta players also felt a sense of intense pressure. They understood how precious each slot was now; industry experts had explained that each player was worth 600,000 RMB, comparable to the data processing required for half a large online game. This sandbox game world burned through vast amounts of RMB every moment just to operate.

Chen Wenshan, as the leader, the most veteran hardcore player, and the well-known celebrity player on the forums—"Autumn Mountain Speed"—naturally wouldn't slack off. He was now frantically studying "Evolutionary Cytology," "On the Origin of Species," "Biological Molecular Structures," "Rational Framework of Biological Skeletal Mechanics," "The Evolutionary History of Neurotoxins," and so on. His dorm room was already filled with over a dozen thick professional books, both domestic and international. As someone who could get into a prestigious university in the capital, he was also a genius student who scored 656 on the college entrance exam. Now, merely engrossed in the game, he channeled all the vigor he had applied to those exams back then.

"For this evolution, I must first go for arthropods, consume plankton, and evolve a skeleton!"

"Then, I'll switch to a vegetarian path, evolve an abdominal cavity structure, and then let my exoskeleton degenerate, discarding this transitional equipment. I'll evolve into a vertebrate, then crawl onto land, enter the swamps, and pursue the neurotoxin route... At this point, to evolve a venom sac, I should start preying on swamp frogs..."

He planned it step by step, losing quite a bit of hair in the process, vaguely resembling Xu Zhi's thinning hairline from back then. He drew dense, detailed diagrams on over a dozen pages in his books. Different environments, different foods, and the prior evolution of specific biological organ structures would lead to different evolutionary paths. It was like a massive evolutionary branching tree, as dense as the stars. It would not be an exaggeration to say this was the most profound discipline in the world, one that would be difficult to fully explore even in a lifetime of study.

Finally, Chen Wenshan finalized his plan, filling over a dozen pages with evolutionary procedures: "After planning for so long, it's time to execute my 'Funeral Chicken Plan' to poison the BOSS!"

That's right, he intended to pull off a major event that would shock the entire game sandbox on the first day of the second beta test! The newly introduced achievement system by the developers required evolving a potentially extraordinary species. What exactly defined "extraordinary potential"? He didn't know. If his evolved species could poison the BOSS, he would definitely be the first to achieve that particular accomplishment in the achievement system. This was the most secure way to earn it! Of course, he wouldn't joke around like before and evolve a species that looked like excrement, as that would be unappetizing. He intended to evolve a species that looked delicious but possessed potent venom.

That's right, he aimed to be the first player to earn an achievement in "Spore Evolution"! And given the game's generosity, where a single player slot was allocated 600,000 in data computing resources, the "huge mysterious reward" mentioned in the achievements would surely be groundbreaking!

He entered the game. "Please evolve your eyes!"

He had already entered the restart phase, beginning as a new spore, all for this very moment. The second beta server reopened at 5 AM, and while new players were still figuring things out, he had already restarted his game. Now, ten hours had passed, and it was past 3 PM.

"It's finally a success, though there are still some flaws..." Chen Wenshan was incredibly excited. As a hardcore player, he had painstakingly played for ten hours straight! His current evolved species looked like a delicious, fiery red rooster, and he, as the "king," controlled a small population of roosters.

"It's time to show these new second beta players how awesome us first beta veterans are! I'm going to demonstrate poisoning the giant boss in the yard for the newbies!" Chen Wenshan revealed a mischievous grin. That's right, after preparing for so long, he was now going to cause a massive, earth-shattering event! So, he posted on the forum and started a live stream.

"On the First Day of Spore Evolution's Second Beta Test, Autumn Mountain Speed Decides to Put on a Show for New Players: Taking Down the Apple-Eating Giant Boss in the Yard Online!"

As soon as this post appeared, the entire forum exploded. Everyone knew that even the fastest progress made by the first beta players still resulted in clumsy, deformed creatures that were constantly eliminated by natural selection.

"More Crypto, Chop Hands: 'Big Shot, is your evolutionary theory so good that you could win a Nobel Prize? Have you evolved a terrifyingly powerful species already and started fighting bosses?'"

"Little Tiger Down the Mountain: 'As a newbie who just evolved eyes, I'm still reading "On the Origin of Species," the basic evolutionary book recommended by all the big shots on the forum. I can't help but tremble.'"

Everyone was in disbelief! They knew from game videos how enormous the giant was. Currently, all players' evolution techniques were immature, resulting in deformed species. The largest evolved creature was only beetle-sized, unable to reach even his foot, and most others were ant-sized. How could they possibly challenge a boss?

But some beta players instantly realized.

"My Primordial Thunderbolt Hand, Evolving into Kun: 'Big shot, were you serious about that joke before? Putting excrement in the ten-thousand-foot giant boss's meal, with poison hidden in the excrement? (Funny)'"

"Cute Girl Wants to Evolve into a Dragon, Endorsing Legendary Web Game: 'Holy moly! Oh my god! Autumn Mountain Big Shot is really planning to poison him? Has he already evolved a neurotoxic species? And he calls it the 'Funeral Chicken'? (Funny)'"

"What plan? Putting excrement in the food? Poison hidden in excrement?"

"That sounds absolutely malicious!"

On the forum, a diverse group of uninformed netizens, upon hearing the news, couldn't help but marvel and give thumbs up, praising the game's terrifying freedom. It was truly realistic; they had even come up with creative ways to evolve neurotoxic species and begin poisoning the boss.

Autumn Mountain Speed: "I hope everyone can cooperate with me. Which martyr is willing to control their sub-population and test the strength of my toxin? Of course, if the 'king' of a population were to personally taste it with 100% sensation and describe the feeling of being poisoned, that would be even better."

Countless people merely responded with "heh." No one was willing to use their population's king to test the poison, especially with 100% sensation; wouldn't that be agonizing? However, some people did control their subordinate spores to help test it, and the toxicity was indeed earth-shattering, killing a large number instantly. Then, because their population numbers became too sparse, they quickly went extinct, eliminated by natural selection. They couldn't help but wail and complain.

Autumn Mountain Speed: "Hahaha, brother, your sacrifice was glorious! My toxin is very effective! So, let's start the next step of the plan. It's already past four o'clock. Based on my usual observations of the boss's daily routine, he'll be having his bento around five. Brothers, help me transport myself to that giant long chair in the yard. I'll secretly jump into his bento, sacrifice myself for justice, offer my flesh to the eagle, and poison him!"

A crowd of onlookers and various casual players immediately cheered, "Big Shot 666!"

"We'll help!"

"First day of the second beta, watching the big shot self-destruct to poison the giant boss!"

Then a group of players excitedly formed a "marching ant" formation, rushing towards the chair at the far edge, preparing to cause a major incident on the first day of the second beta: poisoning the apple-eating BOSS.

Xu Zhi: "?????"

Of course, he also browsed the game forum, wanting to see player feedback on the first day of the second beta. Who knew he'd just stumble upon a post from a persistent, silly player? And now, as he sat by the courtyard chair, munching on an apple, he watched a group of strangely shaped ant-like species in the sandbox before him. They were hidden in a miniature forest, huddled together, secretly observing him, enthusiastically live-streaming, and devising ways to take down *him*, the super-large giant BOSS.

He was bewildered... "I'm just sitting here, watching your sandbox evolution. What did I do to provoke you?"

Xu Zhi was instantly startled: This silly player, Autumn Mountain Speed, still hasn't given up! I just kindly opened up the second beta for you, increasing the number of player slots, and you're repaying kindness with enmity by planning to jump into my lovingly prepared dinner and poison me?!