Chapter 43: I Used an Oven to Evolve a Fire Phoenix

Xu Zhi was slightly surprised.

A Zerg hero? Weren't they supposed to emerge from billions of species, from spores released on a massive planet, with only a few born among hundreds of billions? How could one be born so quickly in a place as small as mine? Was this a one-in-hundred-billion chance? Did I hit the jackpot? Xu Zhi felt a surge of excitement. This was a unique, mutated existence, one of the strongest individuals in the long history of Zerg evolution.

However, the sub-brain of the insectoid nest replied, "The specific situation is unknown. It's similar to a Zerg hero, yet vastly different." The sub-brain explained that the previous Zerg followed a technological path. Their heroes were naturally technology-based, each evolving their brains to possess computational power comparable to an entire planet. A single individual could control countless fleets and modify their own genetic chains, transforming themselves into terrifying mechanical biological weapons.

The Zerg had never before pursued a path of transcendence or evolved purely supernatural beings. After all, this speed was too slow. Xu Zhi had only just managed to evolve the initial stages of some supernatural species. If he had chosen the technological path, evolving a super brain now and rapidly advancing technological civilization, he would have been able to dominate the entire Earth and assemble fleets to venture into outer space in less than half a month, unlike his current leisurely pace.

Xu Zhi shook his head. "The technological path, relying on external objects, is fast initially, but in the long run, it's clearly inferior to the transcendent path and its power system, which hold immense potential." The previous Insectoid Mother Queen had also proven this; she failed and regretted it, recognizing it as an incorrect evolutionary path. As the next Insectoid Father Emperor, Xu Zhi naturally intended to follow the most correct path, acting as a creator to lead his Zerg population to prosperity and evolve an endlessly brilliant civilization.

The sub-brain stated, "The creature before you, pushed to its potential near death in temperatures where no life should survive, underwent a mutated evolution, becoming the first transcendent species capable of surviving in fire. This evolution has never appeared in the database. However, it is far weaker than a traditional Zerg hero and cannot adjust its own gene chain, so it can only be considered a pseudo-Zerg hero."

Xu Zhi was startled. It actually survived. "Even this couldn't kill it." Xu Zhi's eyes burned with excitement. The probability of a true Zerg hero appearing was too low. Having a pseudo-one was already incredibly impressive, wasn't it? Xu Zhi mused that if this were likened to a gacha card game, a Zerg hero would be SSS-tier, capable of gene chain manipulation and possessing infinite potential. In that case, this pseudo-Zerg hero would be S-tier. What if it couldn't adjust its gene chain? Among a pile of garbage species, it was simply a phenomenon. "An unexpected delight."

Xu Zhi had just taught those players a good lesson and reprimanded 'Akina Mountain Speed,' so he was no longer in the mood to play around with them. After all, his grand sandbox was what mattered most, and he wanted to see the capabilities of the new species! The next second, a notification appeared. "This game is undergoing emergency maintenance and will be taken offline in three seconds!"

Inside the oven, having endured the inhumane fiery furnace, Chen Wenshan was also surprised to still be alive. Just as he was about to examine himself, his vision suddenly went black, and he was logged out. Everyone in the sandbox was logged out. "Again?" Countless people were frustrated, discussing loudly how system maintenance could occur on the very first day of the second beta test.

Xu Zhi paid them no mind. He frowned, silently put on heat-resistant gloves, and opened the oven. Inside the lunchbox, a vibrantly colored firebird lay still in the center. After someone's consciousness was kicked out, Xu Zhi shamelessly claimed the remaining evolved biological shell as his own, seizing the results.

"This appearance... is it the legendary phoenix?" Xu Zhi's expression showed a slight surprise, and he quickly retrieved the genetic characteristics of this species from the intelligent sub-brain.

Traits: Flame manipulation, potent flame venom, flame immunity, rebirth through fire.(Gene chain cannot be adjusted, unique)

Without the infinite growth potential of an adjustable gene chain, only strengthening according to its existing genes, Xu Zhi wasn't surprised. What did astonish him was, "Rebirth through fire? Isn't that immortality? Even the Insectoid Mother Queen couldn't achieve true immortality or infinite lifespan. Has this creature done it?" He looked closer and realized it wasn't true immortality, but an alternative form. This single creature represented an entire species. Each time it neared death, it would transform into an egg, and its offspring would then inherit its body. It wasn't truly immortal. It simply meant that after its death, its descendants would inherit its shell.

"All descendants share a single body." Xu Zhi marveled at the wonder of this life form. "It's a pity such a powerful and unique life cannot be mass-produced." As Zerg heroes, each mutated individual was unique.

"I never thought heating a lunchbox in the oven would lead to a fire phoenix," Xu Zhi chuckled. "It seems the Wizard World will be quite interesting now." Xu Zhi held the beautiful, vibrantly colored phoenix, about the size of a beetle, in one hand. The more he looked at it, the more beautiful it seemed, and the more he couldn't put it down. Fiery red, stunning. It was incredibly beautiful; this creature was breathtakingly gorgeous. This was the transcendent species I evolved using the high-temperature environment of an oven!

Next, Xu Zhi studied it for over ten minutes before setting down the fire phoenix. He then turned his attention to the original species from which the phoenix evolved—the "Funeral Fowl," a group of highly venomous birds with fiery red feathers. These dozens of chickens were already thoroughly cooked in the lunchbox.

Although a unique mutated species, the fire phoenix, had emerged, the original species still needed to be tested for toxicity as per the earlier plan. He picked up a small chicken with chopsticks and began to eat. "Delicious!" An intensely tender flavor exploded on his taste buds, and juices overflowed. As expected, Chen Wenshan had evolved it to be incredibly delicious for ease of poisoning, like a pufferfish—highly toxic yet irresistibly tempting to eat.

Xu Zhi couldn't help but swallow in large gulps, devouring it rapidly. "This species has truly evolved to be incredibly delicious! It's unbelievably satisfying. It seems after the girl leaves, I can cook for myself every day, eating piles of this. It'll be amazing... Oh, right, intelligent sub-brain, how's the toxin detection coming along?" The sub-brain replied, "Extremely toxic! Ingesting it will cause even transcendent species to die instantly!"

"It'll kill them?" Xu Zhi instantly beamed with joy. The gains were immense, and the unexpected delights too numerous. Indeed, the most delicious was also the most poisonous. At this moment, he felt he had struck gold, becoming instantly rich. In his hands, he held a new transcendent, highly venomous avian species, and a pseudo-Zerg hero—the phoenix. This fire phoenix was the first true high-ranking Zerg under his command! He had acquired a transcendent Zerg hero, and even though it was only a pseudo-Zerg hero, he was very satisfied.

Gilgamesh and the Three Witches could not reach this level, destined to die after short lifespans. Yet, a newly evolved species had achieved transcendence of life. He had previously wondered if the boasts made in the grand sandbox world would be exposed, and if it would be embarrassing if people discovered that Hermes was the only 'God of Wisdom' there. Now, a second 'God of Flame' had found its place.

"So, it's time to deploy the new species: the fire phoenix and its subordinate group of venomous birds." Xu Zhi pondered for a moment and approached the edge of the grand sandbox. Normally, deploying new species was a very difficult task. As a giant, his entry into the sandbox would cause panic. Previously, he had deployed the Evil Eyes after the great flood, when most life was nearly extinct, secretly modifying the swamp terrain so no one saw him. However, with the current Babylonian Kingdom, secretly entering the sandbox was virtually impossible.

"However, this species can fly, so I don't need to enter. I can just throw it in without worrying about it dying from the fall." Considering this, Xu Zhi picked up the fire phoenix and a few of the "Funeral Fowl," then tossed them far into the grand sandbox. "Phoenix, as my first subordinate, quickly gain wisdom. Your future life is destined to be glorious."

Whoosh. They instantly flapped their wings, falling from high above, quickly gliding, and landed in a forest of lush green giant trees. Caww!! Accompanied by a clear phoenix cry, piercing the azure sky. As the fire phoenix descended, the high temperatures from its breath instantly scorched the trees and land beneath. While only a few seconds passed in Xu Zhi's world, several days had already elapsed in the grand sandbox world. As the fire phoenix settled, millions of giant trees rapidly withered, and the land turned into quicksand. Gradually, a vast, desolate desert began to form.

Among the countless trees, one giant tree surprisingly survived the mass extinction. Through natural selection, it developed fire resistance, unaffected by high-temperature flames. The phoenix instinctively perched on this giant tree and watered it with its own blood. In the days to come, this tree would be known as the Wutong tree.