Chapter 70: Spore Evolution, Cube Creatures, and Artificial Gods

Xu Zhi remained calm, quietly eating his "farewell chicken" while browsing the forums, secretly observing the enemy's camp.

He felt relieved after confirming that these "animals" had merely posted a thread and truly had no intention of causing trouble for him. He didn't have much time to observe the antics of these "idiot" players, so he began to focus on his main task: species evolution.

After all, the primary goal was the evolution of the sandbox and the birth of new species.

First, there was the development of the Spore sandbox. After the emergence of a single slime, it seemed like these players hadn't managed to create any more high-potential species; most of their creations were rather clumsy.

"However, with this recent thread stirring things up, I expect their enthusiasm for evolving high-potential species will be fully ignited. They'll want to go to another world and start a second life, so there's no need to worry too much; it will definitely create a huge wave of excitement."

Xu Zhi always believed that as long as a large number of players sacrificed their hairlines, new super-potential species would quickly emerge. There was no rush on that front.

Furthermore, according to player demographics, most players of this "Leisure (Cultivation)" sandbox game were young people aged around 16 to 26. There were hardly any minors. "Spore Evolution" didn't require youth gaming restrictions like other online games, as it genuinely couldn't be played without a certain level of education and high intelligence!

"It's just that these young people, one by one, will soon excitedly burn themselves out into baldness, 'Mediterranean' hairstyles included..."

Xu Zhi showed a faint hint of pity, yet his expression remained detached. "By the way, intelligent sub-brain, are these treants they're evolving now, lively as they are, actually useful?"

Although Xu Zhi was motivated by the desire to eat, he also considered the importance of rich species diversity. A world composed solely of animals would be too monotonous and wouldn't resemble a mysterious, dangerous world of advanced transcendent civilization. The appearance of magical plants would naturally be better.

The intelligent sub-brain responded with a mechanical voice: "A small portion possess potential, but it is not high. They have reached the minimum deployable limit."

Only the lowest tier? Xu Zhi frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, he decided to ignore it. He would wait until they evolved special plant species with sufficient potential; quality was more important than quantity.

Xu Zhi then looked at the essays for the third beta test slots on his computer. "Now, I need to process the third beta test applications."

Compared to the previous second beta test, this one was far more intense. His computer now contained tens of thousands of professional papers. "This time, they clearly came prepared. Many individuals even started preparing their papers right after the second beta test concluded, simply waiting for this moment."

"Indeed, as Chen Xi said, everyone for the third beta test has gone crazy. They've all prepared in advance, and the competition is terrifying. Normally, if I didn't pull strings and write a paper for her myself, I'd definitely be eliminated instantly."

Xu Zhi knew his own capabilities well; after all, he wasn't crazily overworking himself, and he still had such abundant hair.

He then looked at the fifty selected applications screened by the intelligent sub-brain, among which were the two most promising papers.

The first paper was titled: "Hard-Boned Creatures: The Rubik's Cube, A Conceptual Illusion for Metal Replacement!"

The main idea of the paper was that since the Spore sandbox world lacked metal, it proposed evolving a species with extremely hard bones that could replace metal. Given the existence of bio-engines, bio-metal might not be impossible!

It presented a species evolution plan, spanning over a hundred thousand characters, richly illustrated with text, including DNA structural diagrams and speculative biological evolution diagrams.

Xu Zhi glanced at it. Its structure, like the slime creature, was extremely specialized. In its design, this creature had only one mouth, and all its nutrients supplied its entire skeletal system. Apart from minimal essential digestive organs and eyes, it had no flesh; its entire body consisted of rectangular bone "bricks" meant to serve as steel ingots.

The creature's bone density was exceptionally high, combining the most stable diamond lattice structure found in nature with the molecular structure of an eggshell.

However, a mere blueprint wasn't enough. The most challenging aspect was how it would evolve. The paper further detailed a complete and feasible evolutionary path from the single-celled spore era, step by step, towards arthropods and exoskeletal creatures.

"This is a genius!" Xu Zhi gasped, taking a sharp breath. "To think of such a thing—a steel ingot with a mouth, that can eat and grow!"

Xu Zhi pondered. What would steelmaking in another world look like in the future? In a subterranean alchemical cavern, piles of steel ingots, neatly stacked like brick walls, would stand before them. Each "brick" in the wall would have a sharp mouth, and as long as the mages fed them, these bone-plate steel ingots would slowly grow.

This image was fantastical, sinister, dark, and utterly bizarre!

"Just thinking about it is exciting. This is the kind of magical creature I want, and it could genuinely advance the civilization of the wizarding world."

He couldn't care less about privacy. He immediately used the intelligent sub-brain to hack in and retrieve the background information of the paper's author, who turned out to be a young woman. She was a twenty-eight-year-old mature "Royal Sister," a renowned genius professor of biology at a certain university, who had written numerous papers and held a strong reputation both domestically and internationally. She had even been a nominee for the Nobel Prize in Biology.

Another professional super-master!

"This generation of third beta test applicants is truly producing monsters. Real-world masters are suddenly appearing, all joining the fun," Xu Zhi said excitedly.

This time, perhaps an unprecedented golden age would begin. "Heh heh, I won't have to put up with that idiot Qiu Ming Mountain Speed anymore! I already have a group of monstrously talented 'wage slaves' under me! I don't need you!"

Xu Zhi was filled with joy, feeling that development was truly flourishing. After a moment, he looked at another paper, and this one was even more impressive!

"A Brand New Life Form, an Eighth-Level Mythical Creature, the Concept of an Artificial God!"

An artificial god!? Xu Zhi was completely taken aback. Did this mean creating an artificial Eighth-Level Mythical creature, even stronger than the current Alchemy Emperor? They really dared to dream big, aiming to reach the heavens in one step!

Currently, no powerhouse in the Wizarding World had yet surpassed the realm of Mythical Wizards.

As for possessing mythical-level creature strength from birth, that was only possible for unique hero-level creatures that broke their genetic locks! Even the Phoenix, still in its long larval stage, was merely a pseudo-heroic individual despite being a Level 7 Epic creature at birth. Each of their appearances was coincidental—terrifying super-individuals who broke biological genetic locks and could adjust and modify their own genes, much like Xu Zhi now, integrating whatever genes he desired.

According to records from the previous generation of Insectoid Mother Queens, on a planet where spores were released, only a handful of such beings could be born from hundreds of millions of lives.

"Artificially creating a unique hero-level creature... Intelligent sub-brain, isn't this just a boastful paper, a fraud?" Xu Zhi frowned slightly.

"It possesses great feasibility!" the intelligent sub-brain replied in a mechanical voice. "This person's hypothesis is extremely disruptive and should not be ignored... They might revolutionize previous evolutionary paths, potentially enabling the mass production of pseudo-heroic creatures. This hypothesis is epoch-making; it might even surpass the previous generation of Mother Queens."

Xu Zhi shivered. Could this person achieve something even the previous Insectoid Mother Queens couldn't? He quickly continued reading.

There was no formal paper, no biological structure diagrams, no evolutionary paths—nothing of the sort. This "paper" was merely the author's hypothetical evolutionary conjecture, requiring verification.

The opening, written in a highly professional and serious tone, stated: "In nature, species often form symbiotic relationships. For instance, the well-known rhinoceros and oxpecker, or the lesser-known sea anemone and hermit crab. The powerful sea anemone cannot move, so it uses the hermit crab as its 'mount.' In turn, the symbiotic anemone protects the weaker hermit crab from predators, secreting terrifying venom that becomes a potent weapon for the crab. Their relationship is like that of a knight and steed, or a wolf and its accomplice—each indispensable to the other. This is a combined symbiosis of two species.

"However, I propose creating a colossal biological composite body formed by the symbiotic combination of hundreds of species, functioning like gears, linkages, batteries, and horsepower.

"This creature will break through size limitations, reaching a terrifying height of one thousand meters! It will form a vast, colossal deity!"

Xu Zhi trembled slightly. A massive aggregated life form. Xu Zhi had imposed size limits, yet he hadn't imagined someone would conceive of using this method to break his genetic lock on body size. One thousand meters was many times larger than the giant beast Fenba of old; to Xu Zhi, it was already the size of a large dog. How enormous a large dog was to an ant was beyond question, like a vast, gigantic mountain creature.

But how could countless creatures naturally combine into one?

"My preliminary idea for the evolution of aggregated organisms: unlike traditional evolutionary methods, this will require the cooperation of nearly a hundred players. Initially, a wooden ship capable of sailing at sea would be created as the basic template for biological evolution. Hundreds of player spores would attach to the ship, acting as parasitic algae, barnacles, or similar entities, covering the entire vessel. Like modern ship parasites, they would thus be able to travel long distances to forage.

"Over time, as the ship began to rot and its gears and tracks lost functionality, the algae and barnacles, in order to remain on the vessel and drift afar, would automatically evolve. They would constantly change themselves, replacing broken and decaying parts, growing tissue-based gears and tracks, becoming an integral part of the ship and merging together.

"Ultimately, they would completely replace all the ship's parts, becoming a gigantic living ship-creature. This aggregated giant ship-creature would be the initial form of the aggregated organism. Afterward, it could follow a normal evolutionary path, gradually evolving into gigantic fish, or even coming ashore to become colossal amphibians, enormous land creatures, or immense flying organisms. It would possess a massive, terrifyingly vast body, a thousand meters tall, comparable to hundreds of stories high—an aggregated life form composed of countless lives! It would undeniably surpass any existing single life form."

"For this plan, I need countless players to participate. I also call it the 'Spore Player Guild Plan'! Countless players would collectively combine to form one creature! I would form the head, he would form an arm, she would form a muscle—that's roughly the idea... One creature would be one player guild!"

"Please grant me this opportunity!"

This opportunity must be granted! What a terrifying artificial god project!

"No matter how enormous or complex, no matter how much manpower and resources it consumes from the players in the sandbox, I must provide support from behind and let him try it!"

Xu Zhi instantly grew excited, slamming his hand on the desk as he stood up. "Another monstrous talent with such wild ideas! This generation, all the big names in biology are joining the fun."

At the same time, a bold idea surfaced in his mind.

If this "Aggregated Biological Ship Plan" succeeded, then his Sky Island, the Land of Gods on the Sky Continent, might also have hope.