Chapter 40: Sudden Long-Distance Relationship

Xu Zhi quickly exited the orchard gate, stood at the entrance, and chatted with Chen Xi.

"What exactly are you doing? Does farming truly make you happy?"

Chen Xi peeked curiously into the courtyard. All she saw in the fields was a thriving pile of vegetables; there was nothing else. She whispered, "Hey! I're really upset. Am I not pretty enough? You hardly ever come to see your beautiful girlfriend for a date."

Xu Zhi replied, "Don't I often go shopping with you, and we ride our electric scooter together in the mornings?"

Addressing Chen Xi's slight complaint, Xu Zhi stated that he had spent plenty of time with her.

Besides farming, Xu Zhi wasn't a complete homebody. Every morning, he went for walks and rode his electric scooter with her, enjoying a carefree and relaxed life.

Still, he always found farming much more interesting than dating his girlfriend.

"That's different! You spend an hour with me, then you farm all day," Chen Xi said with dissatisfaction, lowering her voice. "I've been trying so hard to learn about this stuff, and I've been taking our dates very seriously. Is my charm really not enough?"

"What are you studying?" Xu Zhi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"In four days, I have to go back to school," Chen Xi said angrily, then slumped into a dejected posture. "Summer vacation is almost over."

Xu Zhi paused when he took the lunchbox.

Calculating the time, he realized summer vacation was ending. In an instant, he snapped out of his mental sparring with the "sand sculpture" players in the courtyard.

Frankly, he felt a bit unaccustomed to the thought of not having delicious daily packed lunches.

He was well aware of Chen Xi's feelings for him. She had been a great comfort, coming to be his girlfriend and accompanying him during his most desolate moments with his terminal illness, helping him through the final stage of his life.

"So, won't I have any food after this?" Xu Zhi asked, both touched and practical.

"I'm so sad, and you're still being cheeky!"

She glared at Xu Zhi, scolding him with an exasperated laugh, "So you only wanted me as your girlfriend for free meals! Don't worry, when I leave, I'll ask Aunt Li to prepare your meals."

Xu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing wrong with us having a long-distance relationship. We can call and video chat."

He had already envisioned it: daily long phone calls, strolling through the rural scenery, then farming and managing the sandbox – a perfectly beautiful and peaceful rural idyllic life.

"That's not the same, not at all."

Chen Xi, stubborn like a young couple about to part ways, said, "That's a long-distance relationship. Calls and video chats aren't truly being together, and you're going to die soon! I won't even be able to stay by your bedside until your last moment."

Xu Zhi: "..."

Stop constantly bringing up my death... And you call *me* cheeky? You're even more so!

Xu Zhi felt they were both equally mischievous. Suddenly, his brow twitched. "By the way, have you heard of a game called 'Spore Evolution'?"

"I don't know," Chen Xi paused.

She explained that as a pure and beautiful girl, she usually only played casual mini-games and avoided anything too violent.

"This is a casual sandbox game, very relaxed, with a lot of freedom of action, like 'Minecraft.' Have you ever played a sandbox construction game?" Xu Zhi asked with a smile.

"'Minecraft'? Yes, I've played it," Chen Xi nodded this time.

Xu Zhi said, "It's said that this casual sandbox game uses black tech; it's a second world, completely realistic. We can meet there, just like in real life, much more authentic than video calls."

"Really?"

Chen Xi paused, "A completely realistic second world? We can meet there?"

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then added, "However, there are some conditions for beta test access; you need to write a scientific paper on natural evolution."

Chen Xi was instantly dumbfounded, her eyes wide with surprise. She stared at him, bewildered and skeptical, "Scientific paper... Are you sure this is a casual game?"

"It's okay, I can handle it."

Xu Zhi reassured her, "When you get to school, just download the game. I'll hire someone to ghostwrite the paper to get you a beta test slot. Then, you can just jump into the game... But your school computer probably isn't powerful enough to run it. I'll pay, about 20,000 yuan, to buy you one that can handle it."

"I love you!"

Chen Xi immediately became excited, gave Xu Zhi a big kiss on the cheek, and then shyly bounced away.

Xu Zhi stood at the courtyard gate, gently touching the cheek she had fiercely kissed. He smiled, "Sure enough, throw some money around and say a few cheesy pick-up lines, and no girl can resist."

As the Creator, being rebelled against by the spores created in a small sandbox, and having Gilgamesh from the large sandbox constantly plotting deicide – those were tolerable. But if he couldn't even fulfill his girlfriend's small request, what kind of Creator would he be?

And securing a beta test slot was simply a matter of his word.

However, buying a high-spec computer capable of running the game naturally meant he had to spend some money. Of his 100,000 yuan savings, he spent 20,000, leaving him with 80,000 yuan.

"Money is just money; there's nothing to it if it's spent. But I do need to figure out how to make more," Xu Zhi thought. After reassuring Chen Xi, he didn't feel too bad about it; he had plenty of ways to earn money.

Actually, their usual dates involved going for drives, enjoying the scenery, and chatting.

In the future, they could move their dates to the miniature sandbox. The scenery there was quite good, with picturesque mountains and clear waters. They could tour the landscape and even watch a bunch of "sand sculpture" spores and bizarre creatures running wild.

It truly was a beautiful, magnificent, and fantastical world.

One might say, this small sandbox was a very wise creation; now it had even more uses, serving as their meeting and dating spot.

After addressing Chen Xi's anxieties about a long-distance relationship, Xu Zhi just smiled. Holding the lunchbox at the doorway, his hanging heart finally settled.

Meanwhile, inside the large courtyard.

"Genesis, what is this?"

A group of players couldn't help but exclaim.

"How did the word 'Genesis' suddenly appear in our Spore Evolution game sandbox? Could this be a hidden questline, or perhaps part of the game's world background?"

The players gasped in wonder, utterly astonished and incredibly excited, as if they had discovered a new continent.

Indeed, the game's freedom was explosive, just like real life; all hidden storylines needed to be explored.

In the players' view, their actions had clearly triggered a main storyline!

Yes!

Attacking the boss must have triggered a cutscene!

Which of the players present wasn't a veteran of online games?

They naturally knew that most online games had background world settings, whether Western fantasy or Eastern Wuxia games with their historical plots. They must have triggered a background lore cutscene.

"I can't believe this sandbox game has lore too? I thought it was just a simple sandbox world for spore evolution!"

"The design team, hardcore as they are, is incredibly conscientious! They even gave us a background world to discover!"

Various strange and exotic species, perched on the giant book page, chattered excitedly, beside themselves with anticipation.

"Everyone, stop messing around and don't waste time! Quickly turn to the next page and see what 'Genesis' says... Damn it! Brothers, this game is so hardcore! Even the background introduction cutscenes require us players to turn the page to trigger them!"

The group stumbled upon this by accident, thinking they had triggered game lore.

Immediately after, led by Qiu Mingshan Che Su, everyone scrambled, rushing off the giant page and collectively opening the second page. On it, the three large characters "Dark Martial Era" were written.

**Dark Martial Era:** Heaven and Earth changed drastically, the sun set and the moon rose, plunging the world into 5,000 years of long darkness. A mass extinction event wiped out 99% of marine life. Only the Blue Moon Grass, absorbing moonlight, survived and rapidly proliferated as the sole remaining species. It thrived immensely in this dark ocean, becoming the dominant species of this era!

The first mass extinction event?

Countless faces trembled slightly.

"Are these ancient historical eras?"

"Don't read it in detail! Quickly record it with your VR headset and analyze it later. If we delay any longer, the giant boss will be back... Next page!" someone roared.

Countless people snapped out of their stupor. This was the first time they had been so excited playing a game; they were practically losing their minds.

It was too thrilling, this sneaking around felt incredibly exciting.

In an instant, they turned to the next page.

On it were the three large characters: "Light Martial Era."

**Light Martial Era:** Heaven and Earth changed drastically again. The moon set and the sun rose, bringing 5,000 years of blazing sun suspended in the sky. The dominant Blue Moon Grass, which had survived the Dark Martial Era, began to undergo widespread extinction. Amidst this, the weaker lineage of Blue Moon Grass, the Purple Glow Grass, remarkably rose to prominence, becoming the protagonist species dominating this era!

Dominating a vast era, the protagonist of its time?

The second mass extinction event?

Everyone was completely flustered and hurriedly turned to the next page.

It read "Neo Era."

**Neo Era:** This era welcomed new life. Various animals exploded in population, and the first marine animals appeared, marking a golden age of species, with many competing for dominance. Invertebrates, relying on their shells, temporarily dominated the seas and became the era's overlords. However, their reign was short-lived as vertebrates emerged. With their agility, they defeated the invertebrates, becoming the dominant species of the Neo Era and set to rule for a long, vast period!

What was all this?

They vaguely understood but also felt confused.

The background setting of this sandbox game seemed hard to comprehend, yet its world-view felt incredibly vast. This sandbox game offered immense freedom, and they had so much left to uncover!

It wasn't until they turned to the next page, arriving at the fourth era of this vast history, that they were utterly stunned.

**Genesis:** Intelligent species appeared. The Wisdom Ape tribe developed tribal city-state civilizations, driving out giant beasts and becoming the dominant species of this era. However, they were cruel and ferocious, which Heaven could not tolerate. A great flood descended, destroying all life, and the third mass extinction event began, wiping out 99% of all creatures.

Intelligent life once existed?!

City-state civilizations?

A great flood from the heavens?

And it was the third mass extinction event?

*Gasp!!*

Upon seeing this, everyone completely lost their composure, gasping in collective shock. Trembling, they quickly turned to the next page, where they saw a line of text Xu Zhi had just written, detailing the ongoing fifth era.

**Grand Witch Era:** Hermes, the God of Wisdom, conversed with the people on Earth. From this, the three witches pioneered the path of witchcraft. In the Babylonian year 198, the three witches' lives ended, and the gods bestowed miracles to mourn them...

The God of Wisdom! Hermes!

What in the world was this?!

Everyone's mind went blank, feeling as though a grand and magnificent game sandbox world was slowly unfolding before their eyes.