Chapter 97: Pet Born in the Orchard

However, Xu Zhi quickly realized he was overthinking things. There was no evolutionary path for an airplane structure! Even if he had ideas in that direction, he lacked the advanced evolutionary knowledge to deduce the evolutionary process of a new species, and he had no support team behind him.

“I’ll have to stick to the avian path,” he decided. “Evolve something into a bird first, and then we'll see.”

Xu Zhi returned to the storage room. After searching for a while, all he could find was a washbasin. “The shape isn't good,” he murmured. He then found a round wooden board. “It’s too thin. How could that be a floating island?”

Xu Zhi rummaged through boxes and cabinets but couldn't find a suitable template for a floating island. Was he really going to have to create one himself, just like those goofy players?

He scratched his head. Suddenly, his eyebrows twitched as an idea flashed through his mind: “Magic Cubes!”

The “Magic Cubes” were biological iron blocks, essentially a type of building material. Meanwhile, the “Colossus” was an aggregated organism, composed of countless smaller organisms. Could these two highly potent biological entities be combined?

A thought struck him: “A Colossus organism, aggregated from these 'Magic Cube' iron blocks as basic units, combining the strengths of both biological forms, might truly be the most powerful being.” Xu Zhi couldn't help but ponder the possibilities. The more he thought about it, the more feasible and promising it seemed.

“No,” he thought, “I can do even better! These iron blocks have even greater evolutionary potential. I can completely evolve them into rectangular Lego-like bricks with circular studs and corresponding recesses, allowing them to snap together, making combination much easier!”

Xu Zhi recalled the building blocks he played with as a child: colorful plastic rectangles with interlocking features that could be assembled into Lego buildings, Lego figures, Lego airplanes, Lego vehicles, Lego boats... He could DIY any shape he desired.

Currently, these “iron block” organisms were smooth, rectangular blocks. Evolving interlocking features on them wouldn't be difficult. Although Xu Zhi didn't possess extensive evolutionary knowledge, he could still easily modify certain biological forms and structures. Evolving circular studs and recesses was simple. It was like cultivating square watermelons: all you needed was a mold to restrict their growth.

“Wisdom Sub-brain,” Xu Zhi instructed, “retrieve the Magic Cube organisms’ gene chain from the gene bank for reproduction.”

The Wisdom Sub-brain’s mechanical voice responded:“Adjusting gene chain…”“Introducing spores…”“Reproducing…”

Soon, individual Magic Cube organisms evolved and grew. Xu Zhi used crystal resin to create Lego-brick-like molds, then placed several Magic Cube iron blocks inside them. Generation after generation reproduced. They grew within the molds, their shapes restricted by the external casing. Gradually, after countless generations of evolution, even when the molds were removed, circular studs and recesses appeared on their smooth rectangular surfaces.

“The Magic Cube mutated species succeeded,” he noted. Xu Zhi’s eyebrows twitched. “Swarm Sub-brain, name the new species: Colossus Cell Construction Template.”

The Wisdom Sub-brain’s mechanical voice replied:“Naming successful. Record in gene bank?”“Record.”

Xu Zhi looked at the tabletop, strewn with tiny, black and red rectangular Lego-like bricks, each even smaller than an ant. He chuckled aloud. “The Lego bricks I played with as a child have reappeared here unexpectedly,” he mused. “With this original template organism, I won’t just be making floating islands. Creating any aggregated Colossus will be effortless.”

Moreover, this Colossus might be even stronger than the players’ version; it’s a 2.0 version. These were, after all, Magic Cube organisms: biological material iron blocks with light bone structure, low weight, and high hardness. This was a species meticulously researched by some biological expert, who must have lost countless hairs over it.

“Time to assemble,” he announced. “I’m going to use these Lego-like bricks to build a really cool floating island.”

Xu Zhi sat in his chair, a table in front of him covered with countless tiny black and red Lego-like bricks. He picked up a small silver pair of tweezers and began snapping the small, interlocking blocks together, much like building structures in Minecraft.

Eventually, a colossal island, constructed entirely from these “small blocks,” came into being. It was about the size of a washbasin and took Xu Zhi over seventeen thousand biological building blocks.

“The aggregated organism is ready,” he said. “Next, I’ll put it into the small sandbox and let it evolve into a flying bird.”

Xu Zhi rested his chin on his hand. “This is a godsend. The game sandbox is empty right now, perfect for stirring things up and evolving a floating island in there…” In reality, a few players hadn't participated in this plan due to urgent real-life matters, but Xu Zhi, just in case, had simply cut off their access to the game sandbox.

“Time to begin the evolution,” he mused. “It’s another completely new giant flesh spore, just like the previous flesh fish. But how will it evolve into a bird?”

Xu Zhi secretly posted on the internet, using the username “Those Who Scold Me Get Noted Down in My Little Book”: “Distinguished experts, can anyone tell me how a spore evolves, how a single-celled organism moves onto land, and how it transforms into a flying bird?”

Countless 'cloud players' immediately flocked to the topic, eager to participate.

“According to the historical evolutionary path, birds first crawled out of the ocean…”“You can try this evolutionary path!”

Xu Zhi began the evolution. His requirements weren't high: as long as it evolved from a giant “spore” into a bird, any bird would do. No matter how bizarre its shape, as long as it could fly, it was enough.

Afterward, he failed… Miserably. Before, he could casually evolve deformed birds, but now, with a specific intention, it wouldn't work. He primarily relied on a "go-with-the-flow evolution method," largely because he hadn't extensively studied evolutionary theory. This meant he was far less skilled than the balding players in the game. After several failures and rebuilding the blocks multiple times, he finally created a flying island.

This floating island was black and red, an irregularly shaped disc with a pair of huge wings extending from its sides.

Whoosh! The strange bird flapped its wings and took to the sky. Xu Zhi looked up, silently watching the washbasin-sized, bizarre bird fly. It soared and circled over the orchard like an eagle.

“This bird,” he thought, “not only serves as ‘Achilles, Land of the Gods,’ but also as my top bodyguard! It can fly around, patrol near the orchard, and protect me.”

“Come down,” he commanded.

Xu Zhi stood at the courtyard gate and gently raised a hand. Whoosh. Achilles, Land of the Gods, gently landed on Xu Zhi’s hand. Like a trained eagle, it spread its metallic-sheened wings, exuding a powerful aura.

Xu Zhi stroked its broad, hard, metallic-feeling back, then offered it an apple. “Good boy,” he said, “from now on, you’re my little pet in the orchard.”

Chomp, chomp, chomp! The washbasin-sized, bizarre island organism lowered its head and pecked, instantly devouring the apple.

These aggregated organisms were essentially a collection of loose biological components—hair, skin, bone—each with its own mouth. So how did they eat? Did they disassemble themselves and sit on the ground to eat together?

They didn't need to disassemble. The players had already considered this point: they simply ate with their mouths. They had evolved an “esophagus” that also consumed food through the mouth, like a funnel. The food would travel through a dense, spiderweb-like “network of pipes” inside their bodies, spreading to all parts, even seeming to seep through the skin, transporting nutrients to the mouths of every individual organism within the aggregate. They had indeed considered every logical detail; it was a highly precise biological structure.

“Wisdom Sub-brain,” Xu Zhi thought, “bring up the genetic characteristics of this aggregated organism.”

Its attributes were as follows:Achilles, Land of the Gods.Genetic Traits: Spiked Carapace, Form Shifting, Regeneration from Blood, Eternal Existence.

“Huh, it actually gained a new genetic talent?” Xu Zhi was slightly stunned.