Chapter 25: Entering the Sand Table

"Witches?"

Xu Zhi smiled.

He had waited quietly for over three days, which amounted to more than three hundred years in their world. Finally, after barely surviving the great flood, there were now signs of resurgence.

Individuals had emerged who integrated a second gene; they chose the Evil Eye.

As an insectoid race, it was relatively easy for them to integrate genetic fragments, provided their physical constitution was suitable and their own gene chain happened to contain large blank segments capable of accommodating foreign genes.

Gilgamesh had integrated a second gene, the termite gene, granting immense strength.

This group of women, known as witches, integrated a second gene, the Evil Eye gene, which bestowed psychic abilities.

If the Evil Eye species hadn't been the first supernatural species to appear in this sand table, it might never have become the catalyst for a path to transcendence.

"Evil Eyes, big-eyed monsters... what a pleasant surprise!"

Xu Zhi smiled broadly, delighted that this impromptu small sand table was truly excellent. The players' wild imaginations, deviating from conventional evolutionary processes, had presented him with surprising new species.

He sat on the long bench by his courtyard gate, munching on an apple. "Indeed," he mused, "it's too difficult to ponder alone. It's better to brainstorm and draw upon the wisdom of others."

In reality, the termite gene was exceedingly powerful, enabling one to lift hundreds of times their own body weight, conferring terrifying superhuman strength. However, it required an excessively large blank genetic segment. Normal individuals rarely possessed such large blank gene segments; they were typically filled with fragmented, useless genes.

The Evil Eye gene, on the other hand, was much weaker, requiring fewer blank gene segments, thus leading to a higher probability of its emergence. Three individuals were born after four hundred women died.

However, these three were vastly inferior to Gilgamesh. To defeat even ordinary Aragath Beasts, they required warriors to cooperate on the front lines to barely win, whereas Gilgamesh alone could sweep through everything. The disparity between them was immense.

After all, their use of psychic energy was rudimentary. The three had begun to research their powers, developing herbal medicine and studying witchcraft within the tribe, but their progress was still too slow.

Xu Zhi pondered for a moment, then returned to his room and searched online. "Online," he thought, "there's Western yoga meditation and Eastern Taoist internal visualization techniques—all for training the mind and spirit. They should be useful. What if I give them the 'seeds' of meditation and let them refine it, developing a cultivation path for witches?"

The beginning of any path is difficult, fraught with trial and error and countless obstacles. But once a direction is established, progress becomes exponentially faster. Perhaps Xu Zhi could provide them with that direction.

But how could he meet the three witches in that tribe? Should he transform into a wise giant beast and bestow upon their civilization three treasures?

The thought had barely formed before Xu Zhi dismissed it. Definitely not. He couldn't directly control or possess a micro-organism within the sand table to act and speak on his behalf; otherwise, he would have already been living it up in the sand table.

As Xu Zhi contemplated his next move, a group of leading hardcore players in the sand table had already begun to crawl onto the land. They discovered that there truly was an immense giant sitting on a colossal, towering chair in the distance, eating an apple with a thoughtful expression.

"This sand table game is incredibly interesting! Spore evolution... our in-game lore actually says we're evolving insects in a courtyard. Are we supposed to fight back against the giant in the courtyard...?"

Three or four players, strangely shaped, whispered amongst themselves, finding the game's freedom terrifyingly high. With no main storyline, everything relied on exploration and discovery, which was incredibly novel.

"Wow, this is amazing! With a body this huge, he's practically the legendary Pangu."

"Does this mean we're supposed to evolve and have a go at him?"

"Shhh! Observe secretly, brothers. We're no match for him right now. We're just ants; he can't see us."

"Don't get close to him. We barely made it ashore. If he steps on our 'King' and kills it, we'll have nothing left to cry about."

A group of players lay hidden in the coastal forest, observing in secret and marveling.

"A bunch of clowns," Xu Zhi thought, sitting in his courtyard. He watched the tiny ants on the ground in the distance, whispering and huddling together, acting terribly sneaky, truly seeing him as the big boss they needed to strategize against.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock came from the door. It was Chen Xi, the girl, delivering food.

"Never mind for now, I'll eat first," he said, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! It's an earthquake! A damn earthquake! These virtual five senses are so real!"

"Brothers, he just stood up! He's blocking out the sky, and it feels like the whole world is shaking! Run! Stay hidden and develop, don't let him step on you!"

Innumerous screams echoed.

A group of bizarrely shaped creatures scattered in panic. They ran frantically across the vast, boundless land like a pack of mad dogs. Behind them, a colossal, cloud-like giant, thousands of feet tall, slowly strode forward.

Each step spanned thousands of li.

He effortlessly stepped over the heads of this group of ants, walked into the distance, and returned with a blue lunchbox in hand, settling back onto the chair by the courtyard gate to eat his meal, bite by bite.

The fried egg, carrots, and bok choy offered a fresh aroma; country food truly was sweet and delicious. Xu Zhi felt incredibly satisfied and continued to ponder how to transmit information about meditation to the three witches of the Babylonian tribe.

At that moment, the players, who had been hiding in the small grove, secretly crept out again. They watched the giant sitting in the courtyard eating his packed lunch, then huddled together once more, whispering.

"Wow, the freedom in this game is incredible!"

"This boss even has triggered animations! We activated one, and he's still eating."

"Shhh, let's keep a low profile and develop first."

"This game is so damn fun! It's explosive!"

Xu Zhi sat on the chair, eating his packed lunch and watching the group of players in the small grove in the distance, secretly trying to figure out how to defeat him. He was momentarily speechless, but then a thought suddenly struck him: "That's it! The game evolution sand table!"

Xu Zhi considered this. "I'll just go through the player channel, evolve from a spore into a creature myself. Then I'll be a micro-organism, and getting into the large sand table will be simple!"

He was ecstatic and, while decisively eating his lunch, researched the feasibility of this idea. If it truly worked, it meant he could enter the micro sand table whenever he wished in the future. Indeed, establishing this small sand table had been a wise decision, bringing him immense surprises and numerous benefits.

After finishing his meal, Xu Zhi decided to test it out. Since he was going to play the game himself, he naturally had to clear the area.

The next second, an announcement appeared.

"This game is undergoing emergency maintenance. All players will be disconnected in three seconds!"