《The Cultivation of Civility》


 1 Sand table design

    "In the early stages of stomach cancer, there is indeed a chance of cure, but now it has deteriorated to the middle stage of stomach cancer, and the possibility of cure has already decreased. However, if you continue to actively treat it, there is still a possibility... "


    "No need, I choose to be discharged from the hospital."


    After spending more than two hours, Xu Zhi stepped out of the hospital. After a period of chemotherapy, his hair became sparse and fell out, his physique was pale and hunched, and he was in an extremely unhealthy condition.


    In the early stages of cancer, actively cooperating with treatment has a chance of cure, but once it enters the middle stage, the survival rate is extremely low.


    There is no need for treatment anymore.


    He murmured to himself.


    Xu Zhi has a high ability and works for a large foreign company, but now the five or six hundred thousand savings he has accumulated over four or five years has been consumed by more than half. After being busy for several years, it was all in vain.


    He bought a high-speed rail ticket, dragged his luggage, and returned to his hometown of Dongcheng in the countryside.


    It has been a year since he last visited his hometown in the mountains, where there is an independent courtyard with a fruit orchard.


    Their family used to have a mine in the village, and more than 100 acres of fruit trees were contracted behind the courtyard.


    But half a year ago, the price of lychee was too low, and too much was stored, and they were tricked by someone who said they could solve the unsold fruit. As a result, they lost nearly a million yuan from spending money to ask for help and being cheated. His parents were also angered and collapsed half a year ago and could not get up again.


    Now the orchard is not taken care of, and the workers who were hired have already disappeared. The fruit forest has become barren, and the trees have been cut down long ago, leaving only weeds on the ground.


    He unlocked the door, pushed open the door, and a burst of dust rushed in.


    The familiar rural life from childhood to adulthood came into view. He put down his luggage in the room and planned to spend his last years in his hometown, returning to the rural life.


    Creak...


    He suddenly heard a strange sound.


    "Who is it? It seems that something is making noise in the courtyard?" He stood up and came to the deserted orchard courtyard. In a pile of weeds, he saw a black beetle about the size of a bowl.


    "It''s really black. What kind of insect is this?"


    Xu Zhi extended his hand. Brush-- In an instant, his thoughts were sucked into the black shell of the insect, taking him on a journey through the vast history of a race. It was the long history of the rise of the insect race, from a green planet that was equivalent to the Cambrian explosion on our Earth, where an ancient species of insects emerged. They gave birth to their own intelligence, developed technology, and their enormous reproductive ability and potential led them to explore the stars. When their technology reached its peak, the insect race knew that they were living in a barren and lowly world. In the end, they broke through a certain dimension and entered a higher and more incredible world, the immortal realm, but they were instantly defeated, as if it were only natural. Inside the insect nest, the last generation of the queen left behind a message full of regret: "Evolution of organisms is not about being bigger and more powerful, but about one''s own strength. " "We started off on the wrong path. The bigger we evolved, the more misguided we became. The smaller the body, the greater the potential for energy transformation... We have failed. Whoever becomes the next queen of the insect nest, go and fight for the immortal realm on my behalf!" ... Soon, Xu Zhi found himself in charge of this insect nest. From the insect race memories he received, he learned that this aggressive and powerful race had only one special ability. "Super-fast cell division?" The insect race''s ability was to shorten their lifespan and accelerate the cell division rate of their biological organisms, allowing their race to be born, bloom, grow, wither, and die in an instant, like a flower bud. In his memory, the insect nest queen was a fortress of war. As long as the nest produced cells - spores and released them onto a barren planet, starting the "super-fast cell division" process, within a few years those cells would multiply wildly and evolve into a new species, becoming one of the nest''s armies. "This race has infinite possibilities." With this thought, Xu Zhi''s mind was no longer at peace. Years of illness and chemotherapy had left Xu Zhi feeling physically and mentally exhausted, and he had even begun to question the purpose of his boring life. Now, on the brink of death, he suddenly found something that piqued his curiosity. The evolution and process of organisms. "The previous generation of the insect nest queen released spores on barren planets, propagating and evolving countless species, building one world after another. But I don''t have a planet, so why not use this ability to create a small-scale evolutionary sandbox in my backyard orchard and let countless insect spores and single-celled organisms evolve into countless species within it..." "It feels like a sandbox game - my world. And if I can create a world, evolve a civilization and countless races within it, perhaps I can find a way to cure my cancer from this civilized world?" Xu Zhi was excited. Was this his chance encounter?


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    Cancer, which modern medicine cannot cure, may be his last hope of survival.


    "I need to quickly set up a sandbox and buy tools for farming!" Xu Zhi, in his hometown''s farm, dug out a tricycle covered in dust from the corner and, panting like an old man, drove it laboriously towards the nearby town, his body depleted by chemotherapy.


    He spent three to four thousand yuan of his own savings and brought back a bunch of farm equipment and instruments to prepare for his project. Back in the courtyard, he began setting up with joy in his heart.


    He did not have a planet, only a more than one hundred mu fruit orchard on which to build his sandbox world. With the help of a group of workers, he cleared the weeds and miscellaneous trees in the orchard and turned it into a flat land of mud. He took up a hoe like a farmer and casually shaped ultra-small mountains, fresh water rivers, caves, and all kinds of barren sand terrain.


    Then he used the high-temperature sprayer he bought to barbecue the entire sandbox inch by inch, clearing potential plants and animals to prevent existing Earth organisms from affecting spore species evolution...


    Microbes did not have to be considered, nor were they easy to consider, as they would be engulfed by the genes of the Zerg and evolve into new Earth species.


    "The origin of species is the ocean, I must build a huge ocean, seawater."


    In the orchard, his parents had originally built a small fish pond. After some thought, he spent a lot of money to hire a few workers to help him continue to expand the fish pond, dig soil and water, and establish an artificial shallow water pond, pouring in salt and making it into an ocean according to the saltwater ratio.


    However, a thorny problem arose.


    This was not a huge spherical planet, but a one hundred mu square plane sandbox, with a structure of ancient mythological terrain:


    Heaven is round and the earth is square.


    "Mythological land?"


    Xu Zhi''s body was not as strong as before, and he struggled to prepare the huge sandbox in the orchard for a week.


    On this morning, he finally controlled the auxiliary brain of the Zerg nest and began producing large amounts of initial evolution single cells belonging to the Zerg: spores, which were injected into the central ocean he had created in the sandbox.


    Evolution began.


    He gave orders to the mother nest:


    "Cell division acceleration: ten thousand times!"


    According to the Zerg''s counting unit, one time is one year.


    Acceleration by ten thousand times meant that one day of evolution for these single cells would be equivalent to a long ten thousand years...but whether new species could be born and the Cambrian explosion of the earth''s past could be replicated in the small courtyard sandbox remained unknown.


    On the first day of the spores being released, the central, clear and transparent ocean in the sandbox did not change, and there was no change at all.


    On the second day, the entire sandbox was still quiet.


    On the third day.


    On the fourth day.


    Finally, on the fifth day, some plankton began to evolve from the single cells in the central ocean that he had designed, and the water began to be visibly turbid.


    For a field of planting crops, one hundred mu is quite large, but for a fruit orchard, it is quite normal. In rural areas, it is common for people to lease a mountain and plant fruit trees on several hundred mu of land.

 2 Two major extinctions of organisms

    "The plankton in the sea has appeared...the mother nest has started setting genetic locks, limiting the size of the spore organisms!" Xu frowned and silently issued the command.


    The orchard was only so big; it was impossible to allow them to evolve too large. The memory of the previous queen showed that the evolution of a larger body was a mistake. There was no need to deliberately increase the size of the insect race; maintaining the original small size of the insect was the correct way to evolve. The smaller the body, the easier it was to undergo a qualitative change in energy.


    Their size would no longer expand. From then on, the normal species in the sandbox had a body size smaller than an ordinary ant. This was the real insect, the insect race. The largest species, even if it evolved to the level of dinosaurs, would not be larger than a cat.


    A worm the size of a cat was already an exaggeration.


    And a hundred acres of sandbox was like a small province for these tiny ecological microorganisms of small ant size.


    On the sixth afternoon, after experiencing the single-celled ancient ocean for the first five days, the sea began to undergo drastic changes as multicellular organisms appeared.


    In a few minutes, the artificially created ocean in the pond was like a sped-up ecological documentary. New plankton species constantly spawned and died within seconds, giving birth to the next generation...


    Soon, various strange aquatic plants floated in the orchard''s pond.


    Xu originally wanted to experiment by introducing single-celled organisms into the ocean to evolve into new species. He did not expect it to be so powerful.


    "A ten thousand year acceleration into one day, only six days have passed and the evolution of species that took sixty thousand years has turned single-celled organisms in the ocean into plankton. It has formed an ultra-ancient ocean like the ''Cambrian explosion'' on Earth five hundred million years ago. This insect spore is simply incredible..."


    Xu did not understand the history of Earth''s evolution, but he could naturally return to his room, open his laptop, and search the Internet to furiously catch up on the history of Earth''s epochs and the origins of species. After all, Earth could serve as a reference.


    "But the sky is darkening, my biggest worry is about to start, the world in the sandbox is about to be destroyed..."


    He looked at the artificially created ocean in the yard and looked up at the dark sky. The twilight was casting the last bit of afterglow in the corner.


    The division and evolution of cells were accelerated ten thousand times, with ten thousand years condensed into one day, equivalent to five thousand years of daylight and five thousand years of night.


    Now that it was dark, it was equivalent to the end of a long five thousand years of daylight, and about to enter an endless five thousand years of night.


    Sunlight was the source of all things. These newly born aquatic plants in the ocean would lose their photosynthesis function and directly wither without sunlight.


    As expected, just as night fell and the sunlight was lost, there was a drastic change in the sea. Large patches of aquatic plants withered and sank to the bottom of the sea, losing their lives, like the Dead Sea. Under the cover of darkness, there was no sign of life.


    "In my era of evolution, the first mass extinction began... I didn''t expect it to happen so soon," Xu Zhi took a deep breath.


    He had researched online and learned that throughout the long history of evolution on Earth, there had been five catastrophic mass extinctions, starting from the birth of single-celled organisms, the evolution of multicellular organisms, and the proliferation of various ancient species.


    The most famous one in history was the Cretaceous¨CPaleogene extinction event, which happened 65.5 million years ago and led to the extinction of 80% of animals on Earth, including the dinosaurs that once dominated the planet.


    But the first mass extinction on Earth actually occurred more than 400 million years ago, at the end of the Ordovician period. Due to sudden temperature drops and sea level declines, the marine ecosystem on Earth was destroyed, resulting in the extinction of 85% of marine species at the time.


    Now, unlike the Earth era, Xu Zhi''s sandbox experienced its first mass extinction due to the sudden arrival of an endless night that lasted for five thousand years, causing the sun to disappear.


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    Earth is a vast planet with countless species that can adapt and survive through natural selection, even after mass extinctions. But here, the environment is too small. Even if the ponds and oceans were filled, there would only be millions of species, according to Darwin''s theory of evolution, a small genetic pool is insufficient to give birth to a new organism that can adapt to the environment.


    "But these are the Spore cells, which have strong adaptability and can survive even on barren planets. There is no reason why they can''t survive here..." Xu Zhi took a deep breath, feeling both excited and uneasy.


    He waited quietly as the moonlight spilled into the yard. Half an hour passed in the dead, plant-filled ocean, and suddenly a faint blue color emerged from the water''s surface.


    It was a blue plant, the size of an ant, with delicate leaf shapes.


    Without direct sunlight from the sun, this plant chose to direct the source of photosynthesis towards the extremely weak moonlight, allowing it to survive.


    After successfully surviving the first round of mass extinction, this plant grew, developed, and died again in just a few seconds, like a fast-forwarded movie.


    It began to rapidly evolve from generation to generation, competing for survival and adapting to the dark environment. It developed into diamond shapes, discs, and even resembled lotus leaves spread out on the surface of the ocean, in order to better absorb the moonlight in the yard''s sky.


    Another hour passed.


    As the only aquatic species in the sandbox, the water plant named "Blue Moon Grass" by Xu Zhi, had undergone tens of thousands of generations of evolution and began to form various branches.


    Some of the Blue Moon Grass continued to absorb moonlight and enhance the efficiency of its conversion.


    Some of the blue moon grass had begun to turn carnivorous, preying on other blue moon grass that still absorbed moonlight, emanating a faint glow to attract others towards them before devouring them.


    Xu Zhi admired the tenacity and wonder of life, the survival of the fittest. "They''ve made it through the first mass extinction, and this single surviving aquatic plant has developed its own diverse civilization in the dark ocean."


    He retrieved a black notebook and picked up a pen to record the evolution of this sandbox. "Why not follow the Earth''s calendar and record the countless epochs of my sandbox''s evolution?


    On Earth, the Cambrian period saw the explosion of life, the genesis of all terrestrial creatures, from dinosaurs to humans to all manner of beasts...while here, the explosion of life faced five millennia of darkness...let''s call it the Dark Martial Epoch."


    He was excited, flipping open the first page of his notebook, writing the first line: "In the Dark Martial Epoch, the world underwent a sudden transformation, sunsets and moonrises brought about a prolonged period of darkness lasting five thousand years. 99% of marine life became extinct, leaving only blue moon grass to absorb moonlight and survive. In this dark ocean, they prospered, becoming the overlords of this epoch."


    He gazed upon the pond called the Ocean of Life, silently anticipating, "According to Earth''s history of biological evolution, the ocean is the origin of all life. Marine plants appeared first, followed by marine animals. What kind of marine animal will evolve from the protozoan cells?"


    He stayed up all night, waiting for dawn.


    Finally, on the seventh day, it began!


    However, it didn''t evolve into animals as Xu Zhi had expected. Instead, he faced another terrifying mass extinction!


    Because the sun had risen.


    As the sun rose, the various blue moon grasses that had thrived in the night quickly withered away. They had absorbed the weak moonlight during the night, but now they were suddenly exposed to intense sunlight, burning up and sinking to the ocean floor one by one.


    In an instant, the blue moon grasses began to die off on a large scale.


    "The second mass extinction, and it erupted so quickly. They''ve only just survived not long ago, and it''s absolutely devastating..."


    This was the death of life.


    Throughout the long epochs of species evolution, measured in billions of years, countless species were born and died. It was a vast cosmic epic.


    The process of spore evolution was long and tumultuous, but now, in just a few short hours, the prosperity and decline of countless species were displayed before Xu Zhi''s eyes, leaving him with a powerful and inexplicable sense of shock.


    By the afternoon, a blue hue gradually began to recover from the dead plants.


    It was a five-pointed blue moon grass, and it had also undergone a mutation and evolution, successfully surviving the mass extinction and transforming itself in the scorching sun.


    In order to adapt to the intense sunlight environment, it began to reproduce generation after generation.


    In just a few minutes, countless generations died, were born, and reproduced, gradually changing from blue to a deep purple-black... Finally, a mysterious black-blue pentagonal seagrass appeared.


    It had beautiful and mysterious balanced pentagonal leaves that could expand and contract.


    At night, it would spread out its pentagonal leaves flat on the surface of the sea, increasing the area for absorbing moonlight. During the day, in order to prevent strong sunlight, it would shrink by half and become a bud, similar to the behavior of the shy grass.


    Mass extinction is a tragedy, but it also presents an opportunity for the rise of weaker species.


    In the entire ocean, there was no other species competing for its survival environment. It began to rapidly reproduce, giving rise to various branches and thriving throughout the ocean.


    "After enduring five thousand years of intense sunlight and darkness."


    "For five thousand years of the sun and moon overhead, as the only survivor of countless species, you have experienced the scorching sun and the darkness. You are the true hero, let''s call you Purple Dawn Grass." Xu Zhi smiled and silently picked up his pen, turning to the second page of his black diary.


    He continued to record the second mass extinction event in the evolution of his biological era:


    "In the era of Light and War, the world changed suddenly. The moon set and the sun rose, and the scorching sun hung in the sky for five thousand years. The dominant Blue Moon Grass, which had survived the Dark War era, began to experience mass extinction on a large scale. However, the weaker branch of Purple Dawn Grass unexpectedly rose to become the protagonist of this era."

 3 The Great Explosion of Biological Evolution

    As the scorching sun of the day faded away, the night of the seventh day began to descend. The purple morning glory grass still lived peacefully in the ocean, enduring the alternating sun and moon for five thousand years. Meanwhile, with their abundant reproduction and photosynthesis, these aquatic plants significantly increased the oxygen levels in the seawater, creating suitable conditions for the birth of marine animals.


    In nature, if there were no aquatic plants in the water, and if it did not flow, it would be difficult for oxygen in the air to dissolve into the water. This stagnant water would not produce a suitable environment for aquatic animals.


    Soon, the spores in the sandbox world''s ocean and single-celled organisms began to evolve. The first to appear were a group of black crustaceans, similar in shape to the ancient marine species of Earth''s Paleozoic era, the trilobites. At this point, marine animals stepped onto the stage of evolutionary history.


    "My world sandbox... finally, marine animals have evolved from single-celled organisms. I''ve been waiting for you for so long, waiting for two mass extinctions." Seeing the animals appear, Xu Zhi revealed a relieved smile. Exhausted from a day and night of waiting, he went back to his room and fell asleep.


    When he woke up, it was already the eighth day of the Spore Evolution Sandbox. Anyone who has studied biology knows that the ocean is the birthplace of life, but Xu Zhi discovered that there were already marine animals that were no longer satisfied with the fiercely competitive ocean and gradually evolved toes, scales, and became amphibians, living on the barren coast.


    Seeing this, he recorded the rest of the Light and Shadow Era with elegant handwriting. This third era of evolution, which completely should have been reborn after the great extinction, Xu Zhi named the New Era:


    [The New Era, welcoming new life, various animals burst onto the scene, the first batch of marine animals appeared, a golden age of species, with invertebrates relying on their shells to dominate the sea for a time. However, their rule was not long, as vertebrate animals were born, using their agility to defeat them. Vertebrate animals became the rulers of the New Era, crawling out of the ocean and dominating for a long epoch!]


    Xu Zhi wrote everything down and silently closed the book. The eras on Earth were the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and so on, but Xu Zhi''s eras were the Dark Warrior Era, the Light and Shadow Era, and the New Era.


    "It''s so fast. I slept for a night, and the spores will soon leave the ocean and evolve into terrestrial species..." Xu Zhi suddenly furrowed his brows. "But to evolve intelligent life, who knows how many long epochs it will take? Since the ecosystem has appeared, why not..."


    "Do something?" He was filled with a sense of adventure and mischief, looking at his fingers, thinking about cutting them and dripping blood into the sandbox, allowing some species to absorb the genes and rapidly evolve into humanoid intelligent life...


    In the sandbox ocean in the orchard yard, would the beautiful mermaid Naga tribe appear?


    In the courtyard of the orchard, a miniature sand table world appeared with the powerful and sturdy Tai Shan tribe of intelligent apes.


    "It''s really exciting to think about, a miniature sandbox world in the courtyard," he thought, but he quickly rejected the idea of using humans as experimental subjects to evolve intelligent species. "I remember there''s a zoo in the city, we could sneakily get some chimpanzee fur, grab some genetic templates, and do something with them..."


    He left immediately.


    Several hours later, Xu Zhi entered the zoo. Around him were couples showing affection or families of three, parents showing affection while bringing their children to the zoo.


    Being single, Xu Zhi stood out.


    After all, who would come to the zoo alone to look at monkeys? It''s easy to be mistaken for a monkey.


    A family of three whispered secretly.


    "Dad, look at that uncle... he''s bald, but he looks so strong!"


    "Don''t say that, he''s bald and doesn''t look strong. He''s probably sick, otherwise he wouldn''t look so old. A terminally ill person coming to the zoo alone is a pitiful person with no one to accompany him."


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    Xu Zhi, in his early twenties, was obviously suffering from the strong side effects of chemotherapy, looking older than his age and with thinning hair. But to say he was pitiful...


    He was pitiful before, but now he was having a great time, evolving species was really fun.


    "Hehe, believe it or not, I, the bald young man, will have a head of black hair and modified evolution genes, curing cancer and restoring youth the day after tomorrow?"


    "But even I don''t believe it. Evolution is too slow. My orchard is still in the ocean and land of the Paleozoic era." After researching in the chimpanzee exhibit for a while, he spotted the best-built male chimp and went directly to the administrator, bluntly stating that he was a medical student from a nearby university with a research project assigned by his advisor, and that he needed chimp blood for his graduate thesis.


    "Young man, they said you''re a laboratory professor''s assistant, a top student with extensive knowledge... I believe you." The older man looked at Xu Zhi''s thinning hair with a sad and pitying expression. "But the blood of my chimp that I raise is impossible. It''s like my own child. Even if you threaten me, give me money, or bribe my superiors, I still can''t..."


    "Just one tube of blood."


    Xu Zhi pulled out 3,000 yuan and put it on the table.


    The administrator''s eyes lit up. This was his monthly salary. He couldn''t help but jump up and say, "Just one tube of blood? I can take out more."


    "Brother, just give me one vial," Xu Zhi said with a smirk.


    He ran his hand over his balding head, laughing like a devil tempting someone to fall. "Don''t worry, I won''t tell your boss. And if possible, we can still collaborate in the future. I''m interested in the blood of peacocks and cranes at your zoo."


    "Sure, sure," the man eagerly rubbed his hands together. "Supporting university students researching biological subjects is a meaningful thing."


    A moment later, Xu Zhi left calmly. After dealing with his orchard, he had hundreds of thousands of savings left over. He didn''t know how to enjoy himself, so it wouldn''t be used up in the short term. He was rich and balding, but that only made him stronger! With his financial power, he could be so arrogant!


    Then he thought for a moment and picked up some white ants he saw on the roadside. After all, ant genes had immense strength and were free...


    In the late afternoon, when he returned to the front yard, Xu Zhi was suddenly stopped.


    "Hey, you''re Xu Zhi?" A beautiful girl riding an electric bike on the rural roadside looked at him.


    "I''m Chen Xi. I used to visit your house a lot when I was a kid. I noticed the lights on in your yard at night. Did you come back?" The girl was surprised. "What happened to you? You weren''t like this before..."


    Chen Xi? Xu Zhi vaguely remembered, "It''s because of stomach cancer. Hair loss, low spirits, caused by chemotherapy."


    "You have cancer, how can this be..." She widened her eyes, unable to speak for a moment.


    Suddenly, she said, "I also got into the same university as you last year..."


    "Congratulations." Xu Zhi nodded. He just remembered it was summer vacation and she was back in her hometown.


    The thought crossed his mind, and Xu Zhi hurried back. After all, he had been away for half a day and didn''t know what kind of terrifyingly reproductive species the insect colonies had evolved into!


    He used to be quite hopeless, silently waiting for death. Now, his boring life had become unknown and interesting.


    He was high as a kite now!


    Creating life, like taking drugs, was entertaining.


    "You''re leaving, huh." Chen Xi didn''t stop him, feeling a bit complicated.


    She pursed her lips, looking at her idol, who had always wanted to catch up with him, but now he was clearly running away. His optimism was all fake.


    After all, he''s bald! He''s bald, damn it!! His rare hairline made him feel pity for himself! Chen Xi suddenly felt like his lifelong dream had collapsed. But they could still be friends. He yelled loudly from a distance, "Hey! Come over to my place to hang out, or if you need help, come talk to us." ... Xu Zhinai''s head hurt. Why was everyone staring at his head with a sad expression? He had already told them that the after-effects of chemotherapy were a normal occurrence, right? Even if cancer couldn''t be cured, stopping chemotherapy would allow his hair to grow back! "Hehe, it''s time to evolve a powerful species that doesn''t grow hair and let them experience the terror of baldness!" Xu Zhinai scratched his head and walked back to the courtyard, looking at the pond. At this moment, half a day had passed. After the species crawled onto the land, their terrifying reproductive speed had almost covered the entire 100-acre micro-sandbox. The mountains and rivers were full of greenery, and strange and bizarre trees grew on the plains. Animals swam in the rivers. "There are fish in freshwater now, and marine fish have left the saltwater and developed into freshwater rivers." "They''ve only evolved for ten days, from single-celled organisms to this complex multi-cellular state. They''ve achieved biodiversity and evolved into an entire ecological world. It''s simply terrifying how quickly they reproduce and evolve." This was already a small sandbox world. If the insect nest didn''t limit their breeding range and prevent them from leaving, they might cause a species invasion on Earth. "So, let me randomly select a lucky one now and proceed with a species extinction event, adding chimpanzee and ant genes. Survive and you''ll be reborn, becoming the ancient insect ape clan in my sandbox in the backyard..." Xu Zhinai wore blue plastic shoe covers that he had bought and walked into this huge 100-acre experimental field. Along the way, he had no idea how many small green trees and animals he had stepped on and killed. He didn''t care at all. "This is the survival of the fittest. If you''re crushed to death by me, it can only mean you''re unlucky and eliminated by nature." He squatted down and silently looked at the species one by one. "I''ll select the one with the most potential and evolve them into intelligent apes." He thought for a moment, then added, "Hmm, it''s best if they''re bald."

 4 Designing an Intelligent Race

    Xu Zhi searched for a while, and the most outstanding creature he found was a beetle-shaped organism. "It has armor, is agile, and most importantly, its head is also covered in armor, without any hair... You are the lucky one, you will become the bald master of the future era, even several eras," Xu Zhi said. He picked up the ant-sized beetle with metal tweezers and put it into a transparent test tube. Then he searched for the food for this species and came to a brand-new experimental field with an area of only one square meter, and released them. Cell division speed: ten thousand times! In just a short period of time, their species multiplied crazily, with deaths and births, and the population suddenly reached more than ten thousand. Xu Zhi then picked up a large number of transparent test tubes and placed them on the ground. "Come on, be good and get into the tubes by yourselves, queue up and come in. Three hundred ants in one test tube." Influenced by the queen, the ants queued up very consciously and entered the test tubes. Then, Xu Zhi gave each test tube an experimental batch number. He diluted the blood of a chimpanzee, dropped a drop of blood into each test tube, and controlled the queen to let them pierce their skin by themselves. Their body fluids and chimpanzee blood fused together, causing a huge rejection reaction, leading to their instant death. He was not a sophisticated biologist, and what he had to do was simple and rough, even a child could do it: Survival of the fittest. Those who cannot withstand the blood rejection reaction will die! After two days of experimentation and numerous batches of test tubes, tens of millions of huge beetles died. Finally, three samples from test tubes 1042, 2041, and 2415 had mutated beetles that began to merge with chimpanzee blood, successfully enduring the genetic rejection reaction and surviving. However, not all survivors necessarily accepted the genes perfectly, they might also be species deformities. In the three test tubes, he selected the most successful sample, test tube 2041''s creature. It was a miniature and delicate species smaller than an ordinary ant, with lush black fur, looking like a humanoid ape with black armor on its body. He named it "worm-ape". Unfortunately, it didn''t have the baldness that Xu Zhi had imagined. It had a lush fur all over its body, and its head was also naturally covered with hair.


    The humanoid ape in the transparent test tube pounded on the glass wall, roaring loudly in an inexplicable language.


    "Listen, what are they saying?"


    "Xie ding!" (sounds like "baldness" in Chinese)


    "Xie ding!"


    ...


    Gradually, the sounds transformed into a familiar word.


    "????"


    Xu Zhi was momentarily confused.


    He wanted to make the protagonist go bald, but instead, he ended up with thick black hair all over his head. And now the ape was mocking him for being bald?


    "Brother, that''s going too far!"


    He had wanted it to become bald, but instead it was born with a full head of thick black hair and even had the audacity to mock him for balding. "Brother, you''ve gone too far!" he thought, feeling as though he should crush it. "I may be the only creator in the world who''s been mocked for baldness by the creature I''ve created."


    It had only just been born, yet it dared to mock the great creator who had bestowed life upon it. Such insolence! This creature''s nature was bound to be brutal, vicious, insane, and warlike, a scourge to all living beings. It had to be dealt with!


    But upon further reflection, he decided to let it be. After all, with so many organisms having undergone natural selection, it was rare to find a mutant that could survive. Killing it now wasn''t worth it. Instead, he would tolerate its snarky comments, make a note of it, and kill it later.


    And so, the poor creature had no idea that its instinctual cries upon birth would earn the undying enmity of a vengeful and petty creator. In the future, its species would face countless calamities as a result.


    "Young one, we''ll settle this score another day," he said, taking a deep breath before putting it back in the experimental field to reproduce. He accelerated cell division by a factor of 10,000.


    The strange ape-like insect quickly died, putting an end to its wicked life of "baldness." But in a short period of time, it rapidly reproduced a population of tens of thousands, walking on the ground like a dense swarm of black ants.


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    "Baldness!"


    "Baldness!"


    "Baldness!"


    The exquisite, tiny insect apes walked aimlessly in the sandbox, running around the giant in the sky, lively and cheerful, emitting a collective roar.


    "Are you still mocking me? Are you crazy?" Xu Zhi''s veins bulged as he injected chimpanzee genes into the population. Now, he intended to introduce the second gene, the white ant gene. He was angry. "I will exterminate your wicked species."


    But this time, he failed. He repeated the process seventy-something times, destroying the "baldness" life of tens of thousands of insects each time, but he couldn''t successfully integrate the white ant gene even once.


    "It must be because the species is too low-level to hold too many genes at once."


    Helplessly, he had to put the white ant gene aside and start accelerating the division of these insects by 10,000 times, allowing them to multiply in large numbers and waiting for them to develop their own intelligence and civilization.


    However, no matter how many generations of these insect apes reproduced, they still looked completely unintelligent, and continued to roar "balding, balding." After some thought, Xu Zhi suddenly realized something. "I''m so stupid. Even if cell division is accelerated by ten thousand times, if a person''s lifespan is only a few seconds, how can they have time to think? To create civilization? Language? Writing?" "Do I need to adjust the cell division and evolution speed back to normal? But if they reproduce normally again, it will take thousands of years for humans to evolve civilization!" He began to search for information in the mother nest, believing that there must be a solution. Sure enough, there was one. According to the insect race''s counting unit, one unit equals one year. Accelerating cell division speed by ten thousand times is equivalent to a day passing by ten thousand years. This kind of acceleration, where creatures are born, mate, and die in just a few seconds, leaves no time for thinking. The brain cannot handle such a terrifying division speed and can only rely on a huge base number, instinctual survival of the fittest, and super-fast adaptation to the environment. However, when cell division is adjusted to one hundred times the normal speed, another change occurs. At this point, the creature''s brain can handle the one hundred times division speed, and the brain cells and neurons multiply one hundred times faster, accelerating thought processes. "Their bodies accelerate by a hundred times, and their thoughts accelerate by a hundred times too, which means that their time flow rate has increased by a hundred times..." Xu Zhi pondered for a moment, then ordered the mother nest: "In this area, adjust the cell division speed to one hundred times." After adjusting the cell division speed, the ant-sized insect apes'' thought processes increased by a hundred times, and surprisingly, their movements also caught up with their brains. Because every cell in their body was rapidly dividing and releasing energy, their movements became super-fast, as if they were using an Eight Gates Formation. At this point, the entire sandbox seemed to be living in a time-accelerated world, frantically moving like a blur. He became curious and asked the mother nest assistant: "Can I undergo a hundred-fold cell division acceleration myself?" The mechanical response of the mother nest was:


    "No, it''s the unique ability of the Zerg race. After transplanting Zerg cells, you can perform a hundred-fold acceleration of cell division... At that time, brain cells will be in a state of a hundred-fold accelerated division, and you will feel that the world has slowed down a hundred times. Moreover, with a hundred-fold cell division throughout the body, powerful energy will be released, and movements will also catch up with accelerated thinking."


    "Synchronized movements and thinking, equivalent to a hundred-fold acceleration of a person''s entire life? A ''burning life'' rampage state?"


    After thinking for a moment, Xu Zhi shook his head and said, "Now, if I accelerate a hundredfold, cancer cells will also divide a hundred times faster, and I will die of terminal cancer in an instant, won''t I?"


    At this point, Xu Zhi had spent two days experimenting with Zerg apes, while the large sand table on the other side had undergone a hundred-thousand-fold acceleration, equivalent to twenty thousand years having passed, and some powerful species had already emerged.


    Trees towered into the sky.


    A large number of giant species appeared, entering a horrifying era similar to the Jurassic period.


    The largest were the beasts, the crustacean mammals with black disks on their heads had reached the size limit set by Xu Zhi, equivalent to that of a house cat.


    This size, placed on the Zerg apes, which were only the size of ants, was like humans encountering a giant ancient tyrannosaurus rex that was nearly a hundred meters tall.


    "I wonder how they will survive?"


    After thinking for a moment, Xu Zhi began to directly slow down the hundred-thousand-fold cell division speed of the large sand table to a hundred-fold, which could be sustained by thinking, after all, it had to be synchronized.


    "The experiment is complete. Find a place in the sand table to release these prehistoric Zerg apes."


    Stepping on the blue shoe covers used in the laboratory and holding a transparent test tube with three hundred Zerg apes, Xu Zhi walked across the ground of the orchard, passing through green and lush small exquisite valleys and stepping on delicate small lush forests.


    Trees began to topple, the ground shook, and countless species in the deep forest frantically fled.


    "Right here."


    Xu Zhi released these experimental Zerg apes into a large green tree-lined canyon to the south of the sand table.

 5 Save the Ape Tribe

    Early the next morning, Xu Zhi got out of bed and looked outside. In the 100-acre sandbox, there were miniature mountains, rivers, and lush greenery. Even if guests came to the yard, they wouldn''t see this magical miniature world in the nearby orchard. The bug nests were proficient in mental manipulation and could interfere with human minds.


    After a few days, Xu Zhi seemed to be less lethargic. His hair, which had fallen out due to chemotherapy, was gradually growing back, and his dead white skin was becoming healthy. In the mirror, he looked handsome and sculpted, with distinct facial features and defined muscles.


    "Stopping chemotherapy for half a month, the side effects have finally subsided, and my body has returned to its original shape. My physique, face, and even more perfect than before... This is the abundance of dead bug species, gradually nourishing my body."


    In front of the mirror, he silently sensed everything. Grazing bug species in the sandbox, their life force energy could nourish Xu Zhi after death. The higher the level of the life species, the stronger their soul, and the stronger the effect.


    This state was due to the first mass extinction of species in the "Dark Martial Chronicle" and the second mass extinction of species in the "Light Martial Chronicle" a few days ago. Although they were the lowest primitive organisms, the number of deaths was too many and could still have a significant effect, until he completely absorbed them last night.


    "The most crucial thing is, my hair has grown back!"


    "Now that the side effects of chemotherapy have been resolved and my body has improved, my body can''t kill cancer cells, even if it is healthy. In fact, the healthier the body, the stronger the cancer cells."


    He finally became very happy.


    Leaving the sandbox in the yard, he rode his bike to the town far away and had breakfast. He rarely strolled around the village, planning to show off his newly grown thick and black hair, and see who would dare to look at his head with a sad expression.


    The roadsides were fields, occasionally with cow dung, full of nostalgic rural flavors. Xu Zhi was suddenly stopped by a stout, dark-skinned auntie carrying a vegetable basket next to him. "Hey, isn''t this Xiaozhi? Chen Xi said you came back, and I didn''t believe it at first... Oh, I heard you got sick, is it cancer?"


    "Yes," Xu Zhi nodded.


    "Ah, that''s not good." The auntie became excited and said, "You have a terminal illness, and our old Xu family has no descendants, what are we going to do? My daughter is actually quite good, look at this..."


    ???


    After finding out that I have a terminal illness, she directly introduced her daughter to me as a potential partner. Ha ha. Perhaps she knew I had made some money in the city and had a large orchard left by my parents, and wanted to inherit it after I died?


    Hair may have grown out, but it doesn''t mean I''ve become weak. Xu Zhigang was just about to refuse. "Hey, ignore her!" Beside him, round-faced little girl Chen Xi rushed out with a few middle-aged women, in a hurry. "My mom told me that Pig Auntie is bothering you, and I knew Pig Auntie wanted to marry off a girl! Your girl is so ugly and hot-tempered, beating her husband and driving him away, and you still want Xu Zhigang to take over?" "It''s you again, you smelly little girl, watch me teach you a lesson..." The short and fat Pig Auntie was very angry, but when she looked at the more imposing middle-aged women around her, she was taken aback and turned and walked away. Xu Zhigang was stunned. "Xu Zhigang, let me tell you, in our village, Pig Auntie is not a good person. There are always some shrewd and vicious women and bullies in every village... wow!" Chen Xi casually glanced at Xu Zhigang and suddenly froze, "What happened to you!? You weren''t like this a few days ago, bald, especially bald..." Next to her, Li Auntie was Chen Xi''s mother. She glared at Chen Xi and smiled, "Girl! Hasn''t Little Zhigang always looked like this? He''s changed a bit now that he''s back after all these years, and he''s become much more handsome! Come on, let''s go to your Aunt Li''s house." "Yes, let''s go to Aunt Li''s house!" Next to them, several enthusiastic middle-aged women carrying baskets called out happily. "No, Mom! He wasn''t like this a few days ago, he was bald, had male pattern baldness, and was hunched over!" Chen Xi was left behind in the crowd, mouth agape, stomping her feet in anger. "Girl, who cursed Xu Zhigang like that? And called him bald!" Li Auntie was very angry. Xu Zhigang raised his eyebrows and suddenly felt relieved. He felt like he had regained his own ground. Is hair not a man''s dignity? He didn''t really have the heart to refuse the enthusiasm of his neighbors, so he sat down in the neighboring courtyard for a while. The passionate aunties chatted about family matters, knowing that Xu Zhigang had a terminal illness and felt sorry for him, also motherly and grandmotherly. Neighbors in the countryside are mostly simple and honest. He rarely came back after going to work, but now he suddenly remembered many childhood memories here and felt some warmth. He accompanied these aunties who watched him grow up, chatted, and felt comfortable and content.


    Before leaving, the aunts stuffed some vegetables and food from their own homes into his hands and said, "You should rest and take it easy here, and maybe the illness will pass." "Yes," Xu Zhi replied with a warm smile.


    "It''s definitely a body double! They must have secretly edited the photos. It''s fine if the hair has grown out, but the looks and demeanor have changed a lot... there''s definitely something wrong!" Chen Xi lay on a wooden chair, muttering to himself and talking nonsense.


    Xu Zhi pretended not to hear, and remained calm and composed. He was actually quite moved by the warmth of the neighbors. After chatting with them for a while and getting to know each other, he expressed his intention to recuperate at his old rural home and promised to meet with them often in the future. Then he rode his bicycle back to the yard.


    As soon as he entered the house, he hurriedly went to the sand table to observe the group of apes and their evolution of civilization. The evolution speed had slowed down considerably - one year was equivalent to two on their side, so he adjusted it to a hundred times slower, meaning that one day was still equivalent to one hundred years.


    "It''s been half a day, so it''s been over eighty years in their sand table world," Xu Zhi thought to himself. He picked up his telescope, stood on a chair at the door, and observed the distant apes in the sand table. He didn''t want to go in casually because every time he entered, he caused enormous damage to the ecosystem. After all, for those ant-sized animals, the hundred mu sand table was already equivalent to half a province on Earth.


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    "This is..." Xu Zhi was surprised to find that in just one night, these apes had already developed rudimentary tribal structures, lived in groups, and even had a primitive language and culture. They had even started wearing animal skins.


    An authority in evolutionary biology once said, "Animals in nature will openly display their reproductive organs in front of the opposite sex to attract them, but when a population gives birth to intelligence, they will do the opposite. Because the first psychological trait of intelligent life is shame, and shame will cause them to shyly cover up their own parts in front of the opposite sex."


    It sounds funny. When a species acquires intelligence, their first act is to wear underwear out of shame?


    Covering up their reproductive organs does not benefit their survival from a biological standpoint. Instead, it inhibits the reproductive impulse of the opposite sex, which is detrimental to the species'' reproduction of offspring.


    According to the theory of evolution, a species that resists population reproduction should be naturally eliminated. But intelligence is unpredictable, and with intelligence comes many viewpoints that are not consistent with evolution, just like humans.


    "Having shame means they have wisdom. I succeeded," he said with satisfaction, laughing. "Those apes that used to just shout ''bald, bald'' have finally developed their own crude civilization, which is not so annoying anymore. Not bad."


    But they were about to be on the brink of extinction. They were too weak.


    Although Xu Zhi had already chosen the best primitive template for them, during the two days they were cultivated as guinea pigs, the sandbox continent still evolved at a rate of ten thousand times. Two days had passed for them, but it had been twenty thousand years. By the time they went back... they were already out of sync with the era.


    Their ancient genes from twenty thousand years ago were not enough to withstand the attacks of beasts and tyrannosaurs twenty thousand years later.


    "This won''t work. Extinction is inevitable," Xu Zhi thought to himself. He had a slight expression change and went back to the room, got on his laptop, and opened the wireless network. He customized some things on Taobao, "It looks like I need to find a way to create some sparks of civilization for them!"


    After placing the order, he turned off the computer.


    The next morning, Xu Zhi came back from his morning jog, slightly sweating. He looked at the two online shopping packages on the table, which had arrived this morning, after all, it was urgent air transportation, only a little over a day.


    One package contained a miniature potted pine tree: a welcome pine.


    The other package was a finely crafted alloy sword, custom-made by a Taobao store, only a little bigger than a toothpick, with exquisite luxury.


    At this moment, the ape clan had survived for a day and a half, which was one hundred and fifty years, and they were becoming increasingly scarce, struggling to survive, and almost on the verge of extinction.


    "After surviving for one hundred and fifty years without extinction, there is some potential. It''s time to go check on them," Xu Zhi stood up and walked towards the yard. "Adjust their cell division flow rate to normal, one to one."


    ...


    In the southern part of Mesopotamia, there is a huge valley where humans live. The valley has large forests with fruits and edible plants growing in them.


    Ahead was the Tigris River, where there were countless schools of fat and plump fish. The rich resources allowed the insect apes living here to survive, but now it was the final hour.


    There were ruins and corpses scattered everywhere. The thatched huts were destroyed, and the ground was littered with the bodies of insect apes.


    "Run! We can''t hide here anymore. The Arla are coming!"


    Several black, hairy, and armored chimpanzees, who seemed to be walking armor, with immature vocal language, roared and ordered the women and children behind them to retreat. They themselves wielded unknown wild beast''s huge horns and charged towards several skinny, black, and sneaky giant beasts like robbers.


    "We have to survive!"


    The women ran along with despair on their faces. They seemed to have become accustomed to fleeing. Several male insect apes rushed forward to resist, but soon there was a lot of bloodshed, and they were chewed up and turned into food.


    Fear spread.


    Xu Zhi sighed when he saw this scene. He felt some sympathy. The casualties of the primitive tribe were too severe.


    The Nest Intelligence Brain next to him said, "The insect race is a highly reproductive species. They are meaningless mass-produced evolutionary spores, with brief and fleeting lives like plankton, unless they can transcend."


    "Transcend? How can they transcend?" Xu Zhi asked.


    The Nest Intelligence Brain explained, "It means to break free from being cannon fodder, enter the realm of insect heroes, awaken, break the passive evolution, control their genetic lock, and adjust their own genetic evolution... Under the billions of species spawned on each planet, there will always be a few who can transcend and become leaders, open the genetic lock, and become swarm heroes, entering the upper echelon."


    Xu Zhi understood. After all, it was impossible for a huge race to be controlled by only the mother nest. There were various powerful upper echelons - the insect heroes.


    The insect race is a passive evolution, survival of the fittest. Just like in the Dark Age, after absorbing the moonlight, the plant Blue Moon Grass died by the billions before evolving into a plant that could perform photosynthesis with moonlight.


    This was passive evolution, with too many sacrifices, based on a huge death toll.


    But those insect heroes were strong individual lives. They could control their genetic chains independently, achieve active evolution, adjust their own gene sequence, and the difference was night and day.


    "You think, will the insect apes I created give birth to heroes who can break free from their genetic chains?" Xu Zhi laughed, "Will there be heroic figures among the races?"


    "If the potential is sufficient, it is feasible."


    The Nest thought for a moment and added, "The genetic makeup of the species in this land is very unique and distinctive. For example, after absorbing the chimpanzee genes in front of us, this insect ape has become somewhat strange, with great potential. It is not impossible."


    ''Insect apes might be possible? Well, I''m pretty happy about that,'' Xu Zhi chatted while taking big strides forward.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The ground trembled.


    In the ancient, wild-smelling forest, countless beasts were startled and flew out, and many species ran away.


    Mountains and rivers were flattened, and some powerful creatures didn''t even have time to react before they were crushed into a pile of flesh by a foot descending from the sky.


    "Even if they accidentally get stepped on by me, it''s just bad luck. It''s survival of the fittest," Xu Zhi said.


    One foot.


    A large area of forest collapsed.


    Ssshhh! In the forest, the terrifying beasts called "Ala" that were eating the bodies of the just-dead insect apes were also crushed by a foot, without even a whimper.


    Xu Zhi caught up with the fleeing insect ape in front of him.


    "Oh my god! What is that..."


    "How could there be such a huge creature!"


    "He''s ten thousand times bigger than the largest hundred-meter beast, Fimba! He just stepped on the terrifying Ala!"


    "At least it''s a super giant over a thousand meters long that can''t be seen from the top!"


    The insect apes turned their heads and screamed at the towering, sky-piercing, ancient giant that seemed to break through the white clouds in the sky, collapsing to the ground in an instant.


    Xu Zhi understood their crude language through the insect nest, but he didn''t mind.


    What do ants feel about humans?


    Ants can''t even reach the one centimeter of shoes, and when they look up, the shock of seeing a towering, sky-piercing, ancient giant that seems to touch the sky is unimaginable.


    To them, he is like a god."

 6 The three treasures of civilization

    "Run!" "We can''t escape! We''re just as small as one of his hairs!" Countless fleeing insect apes collapsed on the ground. During the wails of the crowd, a young insect ape stubbornly looked up at the sky. "Are you, giant monster, here to eat us too? You killed Dad, killed Mom, killed Big Brother. Why are we so weak..." Xu Zhi lowered his head, somewhat surprised by the courage of this young insect ape to question him. "Then, I''ll choose you." Xu Zhi simply extended his hand and placed the insect ape in his palm. In an instant, the young insect ape''s mind went blank. On the palm of this huge creature, it was like an endless continent, and it was only as small as the delicate palm print on the palm. It lifted its head again. The eyes of this towering giant were like a brilliant sun in the sky. The giant face bathed in the holy white light, and its appearance was unclear, with a majestic and vast divinity. Shielded by the insect nest, Xu Zhi''s face could not be seen. They could only see a blurry face emanating a faint light. Xu Zhi dragged this tiny insect ape with one hand and said calmly, "Gilgamesh, do you want to change everything?" The insect ape suddenly trembled, screaming loudly on the palm, "You can communicate! What kind of monster are you? In this world, how can there be a ten-thousand-foot giant with intelligence? How can such a perfect existence exist?!" He couldn''t help but tremble as he said, "And you called me Gilgamesh?" "Name is also one of the manifestations of intelligence." Xu Zhi dragged him with his palm and answered calmly. Gilgamesh stood on the palm and looked at the giant crystal clear pupils that were comparable to the sun and the moon. Suddenly, he said again, "We can all communicate! So we belong to the same species, we are intelligent beings. Why, why won''t you save us! You are so powerful and majestic!" They didn''t know what they were, only thinking they were an intelligent species similar to these giants, and Xu Zhi didn''t plan to explain anything. Xu Zhi dragged him with his palm and strode across mountains and rivers. Large swaths of trees were flattened. He let this weak insect ape see the whole world from his palm and his loud voice echoed through the sky. "Look at this world, every species is equal, you and every plant, every animal are the same. Why should I save only you just because you have intelligence?" Gilgamesh was suddenly speechless. Suddenly, he began to despair and shouted out, "Then why did you come to find us?" Xu Zhi said, "No one can save you, and don''t expect anyone to come and save you. Only you can save yourselves, but I can give you the means of civilization, and you can save yourselves."


    "Civilization, what is that?" Gilgamesh looked down in awe. The strong winds blew as he gazed upon the vast green earth below from the perspective of the clouds for the first time. Mountains, rivers, and countless beasts fled beneath the feet of the wise giants, creating a magnificent and breathtaking scene. What a fantastic and surreal view from high above! What a terrifying and awe-inspiring power! "You ask what civilization is?" Xu Zhi never thought he would have to explain to this new race. He thought for a moment and gave his answer, "Civilization is the spark of fire, it is knowledge, it is order, and it is also the most powerful force of wisdom used to protect oneself." "Civilization is the power we, the wise giants, use to protect ourselves?" Gilgamesh murmured. Xu Zhi walked back to the gorge, gently placed Gilgamesh on his shoulder, and took out the miniature potted plant from his backpack: a "welcoming pine" bonsai. He dug up the soil and buried it in the ground. This sixty-centimeter "welcoming pine" twisted and turned, aged and weathered, but to this miniature land, it was already an endless divine tree that towered into the clouds. Looking up, the tree trunk was shrouded in clouds, and the huge winding body could not be seen. "Do you see the tree I planted? To obtain the power of civilization, show your courage and climb the divine tree. This is my trial for you, a trial of wisdom and courage..." Xu Zhi placed the Taobao custom-made metal silver giant sword, a match soaked in kerosene, and a transparent capsule containing previously unsuccessful white ant juice on the top of the tree. "These are the three treasures of civilization." "Damacles'' sword is a weapon used to protect civilization. Unlike the barbaric species that roam the earth, only the wise species can use the power of tools." "The torch, burning with hot flames, is the bridge that maintains civilization. Mastering the spark of fire is the origin of civilization." "And the last bottle of liquid is the blood of power, only the bravest warriors can consume it. If you can survive, you will have unparalleled strength!" "If you want to change the fate of your race, climb the divine tree and obtain the three treasures of civilization before the torch extinguishes." Xu Zhi gently placed the small ape on the ground, then in its shock, strode across mountains and rivers and left directly. "Accelerate cell division by one hundred times!" As soon as Xu Zhi left, he immediately commanded the nest. The entire earth, which had returned to normal speed, began to accelerate cell division once again.


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    In an instant, the entire land began to move rapidly and crazily, constantly forming various afterimages. Trees rapidly grew and withered, animals turned into afterimages, aging and dying at an alarming rate.


    The matchstick he lit had been soaked in kerosene and would burn for about thirty seconds before extinguishing. But for the land that had accelerated a hundred years, these thirty seconds were equivalent to several days before extinguishing.


    In other words, his test of the divine tree would take many days.


    "Time is relative and a manifestation of material movement... their brain neurons and body cells are accelerated a hundred times. For them, it''s a hundred times faster, and a matchstick that can burn in an instant would burn for several days in their worldview. The matchstick is not just a momentary firework but a torch that can burn for several days," he thought.


    Xu Zhi remembered the words: "Small knowledge is inadequate compared to great knowledge, and youth is no match for age. How can one understand the world without knowing the cycles of sun and moon! The cicada and the little dove do not know the spring and fall.¡±


    What they thought were long years, were just a fleeting moment in his eyes.


    After Xu Zhi left, he used a telescope to clearly see the scene under the divine tree. The small apes called a few companions and climbed the divine tree with determination. In his eyes, their movements were so fast that only afterimages were left behind. In just a few seconds, they fell countless times, then climbed up again. In a little over ten seconds, they had successfully climbed to the top of the divine tree.


    But for them, it had been countless days of arduous failure.


    Their movements were too fast.


    At the peak of the divine tree, standing on the lush green canopy, Gilgamesh raised his sword high, seemed to say something and did something, then turned into an afterimage and disappeared.


    Curious, Xu Zhi asked the insect colony, "What were they saying?"


    The insect colony''s secondary brain brought up the scene.


    "The giant beasts are terrifyingly intelligent! Who would have thought that such a giant and intelligent species would exist in the world?! They are super-sized giants of tens of thousands of feet!" Gilgamesh conquered the divine tree, raised the sword of Damocles high, and swung it over his head. He looked down upon the living beings below the divine tree, his black hair blowing in the wind, his shoulder armor shining black. Suddenly, his resolute face was full of confidence.


    "Equally intelligent, our future is like that giant intelligent species! Each member of our clan has immense divine power! They have the power to make countless giant beasts flee! I will lead our clan to the top and spread the fire of civilization across the land."


    This moment was recorded as eternal.


    Millions of years later, during the most prosperous and fleeting ancient Sumerian kingdom in this land, people discovered the Sumerian historical epic "Genesis" that they had written for the great kings from archaeological excavations.


    This is an excerpt from the oldest known manuscript, the Sumerian Chronicles:


    "A colossal creature of immense wisdom, standing ten thousand cubits tall, emanating a radiant white light and possessing a divine countenance, strode across the earth, crushing mountains and rivers beneath its feet. It descended upon the land and planted the Tree of the Gods, setting forth a test of intelligence. To the young hero-king, Gilgamesh, the creature entrusted three precious artifacts of civilization - the Torch of Enlightenment, the Sacred Sword, and the Blood of Strength."

 7 Aging hero

    Xu Zhi returned to the house and entered the kitchen to boil water. He was thirsty and wanted a cup of tea. The spark of civilization had already been ignited.


    This ape-like creature with thick fur all over its body, resembling more of a Western race, was named Gilgamesh, after the mythical king of the West. It was evident that Xu Zhi held high hopes for him. Even during the trial tube stage of these species, they were unable to accept the second gene ¨C termite gene ¨C but Xu Zhi had given it to him, indicating his great expectations.


    Whether Gilgamesh could truly rise depended on himself.


    Next, Xu Zhi behaved quite comfortably, sitting on the doorstep with his legs crossed, watching the various scenes in the courtyard. "I''ve cleared a hundred acres of land to build a sandbox, but there are still over ten acres of scraps left. Should I clear the weeds there too?"


    After thinking about it, Xu Zhi decided to do it, even though he had not thought about what to do with the remaining land.


    Dong, dong, dong!


    Soon after, there was a knocking at the door. Xu Zhi, shirtless and holding a hoe, opened the door. Outside was Chen Xi, carrying a pile of food and looking at him curiously, peering into the courtyard. "Oh? You''re farming?"


    "Yes, just practicing and exercising," Xu Zhi wiped his sweat with a towel. She couldn''t see everything in the sandbox and assumed he was farming.


    "Shocking!! It turns out that a high-achieving foreign company graduate resigned from a high-paying job with an annual salary of tens of thousands due to a terminal illness and returned home to farm."


    Chen Xi scratched her head, looked at Xu Zhi''s perfectly proportioned upper body and distinct muscle contour, blushed, and silently cursed that he must have used photoshop. "Xu Zhi, the food is here! Um, do you need any help? I also helped my mom plant rice seedlings at home. Your orchard has been abandoned for a long time. It''s over a hundred acres, right? You''re really a big landowner. You can''t handle it alone now that you''re alone!"


    "No, it''s okay." Xu Zhi smiled and said, "The courtyard is big, so I''ll just cultivate a plot of land and grow some interesting seeds. Maybe I can grow flowers that are so beautiful they''ll make people exclaim."


    "Oh." Chen Xi exhaled curiously, patting her chest to assure him, "Then you farm well! If you want to eat anything, just tell me and Aunt Li. We''ll make it for you!"


    Then she bounced away. Before leaving, she added one more sentence to deliver a blow to Xu Zhi, "You were so listless before, but suddenly you look rosy and grew hair."


    "It''s definitely a dying breath... I probably won''t live for a few days. Before I die, I have to take good care of you."


    "Hmm??"


    I have to die just because I grew hair?


    "This damn girl, is she treating my meal as my last supper? She''s insulting me. I only have mid-stage stomach cancer." Xu Zhi fumed, glaring at the girl as he opened the lunchbox.


    Inside was a carefully prepared bento box.


    There were omelets, carrots, and stir-fried pork with green vegetables - very down-to-earth. With one big bite, he felt a refreshing taste filling his mouth, making him feel relieved.


    The taste of home!


    Delicious!


    So fragrant!


    "This girl''s cooking is really good. Maybe I''m already a dead man, but she should take good care of a dying cancer patient like me, and come here every day to bring me good food..."


    Cancer patients need to pay attention to their diet, especially those with stomach cancer. With such delicious and nutritious food, he ate happily, and then lay down on a lounge chair in the yard, not wanting to move.


    After taking a break, he started doing some odd jobs and cleaned up some areas in the orchard.


    Covered in mud after working in the yard, he then began washing clothes, wringing out the water, and hanging each piece of clothing and underwear on a clothesline in the yard.


    "Oh, I need to get a washing machine when I go to the city."


    ...


    The next day, Chen Xi, the round-faced girl, brought him another bento box, and it became addictive. But faced with her sympathetic behavior towards a dying patient, Xu Zhi was willing to accept it.


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    Staying at home farming and having someone bring him good food and take care of him as a dying cancer patient made him feel like the world was full of love. Is there any more fulfilling life than this idyllic farm life?


    No.


    Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, leisurely watching the southern mountains.


    Tilling the fields, planting crops, and living a simple life on the farm to the point of leisure, he had already vaguely developed a sense of seclusion.


    This short day was fleeting for Xu Zhi, just the time it took to eat three meals and take a nap. But for the sand table, it had been a long time, a century had passed. For the insect apes whose average lifespan was forty to fifty years, they had already gone through two generations of reproduction.


    Now, after two generations, had the young and inexperienced insect ape who passed on the torch of civilization already passed away?


    No, he gave Xu Zhi a great surprise.


    Xu Zhi recorded their civilization''s progress clearly.


    In the ten years after Xu Zhi left, Gilgamesh led the insect apes in continuing their nomadic life.


    He marveled at the miraculous flame that could cook food, drive away beasts in the night, and provide warmth on cold nights, representing the origin of civilization.


    The Darmokleides sword left behind was an invincible weapon in this primitive jungle. With the sharpness of the weapon, Gilgamesh killed countless monsters similar to the despicable thieving dragon, the Dora beast, and gave people the strength to survive and resist.


    In the second decade, Gilgamesh left behind his youth and entered his thirties.


    He became majestic and tall, leading the tribe and becoming the most powerful hunter of the insect ape tribe, known as the Hero King among the people of the tribe.


    He even used fire to burn the land and make it fertile, starting to farm and live a rudimentary agricultural life.


    He was arrogant and domineering, believing that the three treasures of civilization had been entrusted to him by the wise beasts, knowing clearly that civilization was the inheritance of knowledge and history. So he boldly developed wedge-shaped writing to record the history of the race and created a new language.


    He believed that he was the first intelligent race to open up the world of civilization, and he recorded his own history of creating civilization in a book, glorifying it, and brazenly naming it "Genesis."


    He was brutal and tyrannical, but also incredibly charismatic. In his tribe, he had 131 beautiful wives who bore him offspring. Most of his descendants were strong and inherited his physical stature and intelligence. However, at the age of 30-something, when insects and apes had a lifespan of 40 years, Gilgamesh had already reached the end of his race. He was entering his twilight years, and the hero who once swung the sword of Damocles with boldness and vigor was now succumbing to the frailty of old age.


    Inside the treehouse made of trees, the flames in the fireplace burned fiercely and emitted waves of heat.


    "That is the flame of civilization bestowed upon me by the wise beast. It is so beautiful and radiant, like a dancing red flower," said Gilgamesh calmly while sitting on the giant chair woven with the fur of the great beast, Alra. He gazed at the flame, his eyes deep and distant. His large and robust body had become slow and feeble. He turned his head to look at the giant animal skulls hanging on the wall.


    The skulls of various giant beasts were ferocious, indomitable, and powerful, enough to make one tremble. These savage beasts that once reigned supreme had all been conquered by him. The entire wall seemed to record his glorious battles.


    He had lived a sufficiently glorious and extravagant life, fulfilling his dreams from his youth. He was satisfied.


    "My son, Kish, the next leader of the tribe, has already been chosen. His abilities are not inferior to mine, and he can lead the entire tribe to confront giant beasts and continue our glory," said Gilgamesh. He felt his life was slowly coming to an end, as death was inevitable for all living things. He had almost resigned himself to his fate and quietly took out the blood of strength from his youth.


    "According to the wise beast, only the bravest warrior in the world can consume it. Those who can endure death will possess unparalleled power," said Gilgamesh as he sighed.


    "I wonder, am I the bravest warrior in the world?" he thought to himself.


    "Let me find out!!" As the hero approached his twilight years, his murky eyes flickered slightly. He suddenly remembered his glorious days and wept. He silently pierced his arm and poured the blood of strength into his wound.


    Pain!


    Unbearable pain!!!


    Gilgamesh struggled to his feet. The aged hero lay on the ground, rolling and gasping in a pain he had never felt before, despite his numerous battles. In the end, he survived death and rose to his feet. His vibrant black fur gradually receded, revealing a strong set of abs on his chest. The dense black fur on his face also disappeared, revealing a perfect face that looked like that of a god. He was no longer gray-black; his whole body had turned into that of a white-haired ape-man of intelligence.


    His skin was delicate and crystal-clear, as if it were made of translucent white ants. He was like a snow giant walking out of a blizzard, with muscular lines that exuded a strong impact and a sense of beauty akin to that of Greek sculptures.


    "This power is..." The young man with the imposing white hair slowly rose to his feet. "The power of bloodline; what great power."


    Crack!


    He crushed the solid bone armrest with a slight pinch, turning it into powder instantly.


    At that moment, Gilgamesh''s son, Kishziagga, stood on a high place in the tribe, holding the Sword of Damocles high above his head, announcing his succession as the next chief. Kishziagga was a wise and heroic man, with both talent and morals. Compared to his tyrannical and arrogant father, he seemed more like a qualified and kind-hearted leader. Gilgamesh was aware of this and thus, even in his old age, was willing to hand over the position to him, not wanting to be responsible for the destruction of the civilization he had led his people to establish.


    But now, it was different...


    It was completely different.


    Kishziagga, who was kind-hearted and beloved, had never even thought of taking his father''s place, despite his deep respect for him. Gilgamesh could not allow any potential threats to exist.


    "I''m back, chief. It''s still mine."


    On that day, blood was shed, and the sound of wailing echoed throughout the Sumerian tribe. The hero king Gilgamesh killed his son and reclaimed his position as chief, living out his second life.

 8 The Sword of Hanging Peak.

    In the previous story, we left off at the end of the life of the insect ape, and the death of Gilgamesh the hero-king. However, he used the blood of strength to survive a near-death experience and regain his youth, living a second life. He returned to his youthful and valiant self, leading his tribe back into the fray of battle.


    Ten years have passed, and the settled tribe has gone through several generations. Their wooden houses have rotted and become damaged, prompting Gilgamesh to lead the people into the stone age, building houses from stones and entering an era of resistance against the giant beasts.


    Gilgamesh, now possessing the genes of termites, could effortlessly uproot a hundred-year-old giant tree that would require the strength of four people to embrace. With a single leap, he could jump seven or eight meters high and possessed the strength to move mountains.


    He led the people in their resistance against the giant beasts, constantly battling, and after thirteen years, he reached the peak of his power. He chose to challenge the most terrifying and powerful beast on this land, the hundred-meter monster known as Fenba.


    Fenba, a monster that crawls on the ground, was like a towering mountain range. Its body cut across the entire Smikar giant tree forest. Its sleeping breath was strong enough to form a gust of wind in the lush forest, causing countless giant trees to sway. With one breath, it could blow away the Ala monster.


    This was the same monster that Xu Zhi had previously seen, with a huge and terrifying body resembling that of a giant cat. It was the ruler of the entire era of giant beasts.


    The great battle lasted for three days and nights. The earth cracked, canyons collapsed, and countless giant beasts fled from the forest.


    On this day, Gilgamesh returned covered in blood, his body in great shape, holding the sword of Damocles in one hand and dragging the corpse of the hundred-meter monster Fenba in the other.


    His strength was so great that he could drag the body of the hundred-meter monster Fenba, comparable to a towering mountain, with just one hand. The people of the tribe were filled with pride and awe, and countless songs were written in his honor. He was the strongest hero-king in history.


    "I will establish a nation," he declared upon his return, looking at the people of the stone age tribe.


    The tribe was ecstatic! They cried tears of joy and embraced each other, knowing full well that with this great and handsome hero-king leading them, the days of wandering and fearing the brutal giant beasts were over.


    A new era of civilization has begun!


    History is written by the victors. Gilgamesh did not record his atrocities of patricide, but instead, in the book of Genesis, his heroic deeds are noted.


    In the historical records of the Sumerian dynasty, it is written:


    "Gilgamesh, who was bathed in the blood of strength, slayed the legendary beast Humbaba with his sword, established the Sumerian dynasty, moved massive stones to build the first city-state in history, and erected the city of Uruk."


    Time continued to move forward.


    Gilgamesh, who was invincible on the entire continent, began to devote himself to the development of civilization. He was a charismatic leader, talented and heroic, but also arrogant and cruel.


    He created currency, perfected language, and built cities, but also cruelly divided people into three classes and established slavery, causing great harm to the people and depleting their resources. He sent numerous brave warriors to explore the boundaries of the world.


    He was a great hero-king to the people, but also an unyielding tyrant.


    In the eighty-seventh year of the Sumerian dynasty, Gilgamesh was one hundred and twenty-seven years old. The city of Uruk finally reached a terrifying population of over ten million.


    Countless slaves traded here, and even an arena was built where nobles laughed heartily as slaves fought against giant beasts.


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    The descendants of the tribe, who had experienced nearly a hundred years of time, had forgotten the hardships and struggles of their ancestors, and gradually moved towards decadence with comfort.


    However, the king of Sumer, Gilgamesh, remained heroic.


    In the dark and dim Uruk palace, the meticulously carved circular arch ceiling had intricate patterns, and the snow-white wall lamps cast a faint light. On both sides were stone pillars with circular golden patterns carved on them. The ground was covered with a red carpet made of the fur of powerful beasts.


    A magnificent and handsome man sat calmly on the exquisite white bone throne, and the legendary sword, the Sword of Damocles, was always within his reach.


    "Great king of Sumer, lord of the city-state! His Majesty Gilgamesh!! We have explored the entire continent." The palace minister Dionysus bent slightly and fanatically recounted the experiences of these years.


    "What is our world like?" Gilgamesh, with a body as handsome as a Greek statue, sat on the throne of the giant beast Humbaba''s bones, as if seeing through the endless blue sky outside the palace.


    The brave explorers who ventured out from all directions, spending more than 20 years on a huge project, finally discovered the shape of the entire world at great cost of life and injury.


    Throughout the history of the Earth, no matter which ancient and great king, they all had a strong desire for knowledge and ambition regarding the world.


    Dionysus respectfully and exaggeratedly gestured, "Our world is round in the heavens and square on the ground. The sky is an infinitely high arc, and the ground is a perfect square. In the center is a huge ocean, surrounded by mountains, rivers, and streams. On this vast and endless land, riding on the fastest Fincila beast in a straight line, it takes more than 20 years to run to the edges of the two ends of the world..."


    After a moment of silence, the greatest king in the world said, "Alright, you may leave now."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    Dionysus stood up and left.


    He suddenly paused, turned around and looked at his king with a desire for worship. This great hero king led them out of the cave, into the era of tribe farming, and into the Stone Age. He slaughtered the most terrifying beast king, Humbaba, and led one civilization after another.


    More than 30 years ago, Dionysus was still a young ranger known throughout the city-state. He was summoned to the palace by the king and entrusted with a lifelong mission - to draw a map of the city-state. Thirty years later, when he returned to Uruk, he had become an old man with trembling and wobbly body, cloudy eyes, and not much time left to live.


    But the king remained young.


    As handsome and perfect as he was when he met him as a young ranger, time seemed to have never left any marks on his face.


    "What a great ruler this is!" Dionysus trembled with enthusiasm.


    For more than a century, the king''s power had not been exerted, and his strength was already unknown to what extent. Perhaps in the future, this long-lived and immortal king would lead the Sumerian people into the next era of civilization.


    "Our world is round, and spacious," he whispered, as he gazed at the empty palace. Gilgamesh let out a deep sigh before slowly drawing out the holy sword he had carried with him for years ¨C the sword of Damocles. Its finely detailed blade emitted a brilliant steel light, and he touched it as if it were his beloved companion throughout the ages.


    "The power of the torch has been mastered, and the power of the blood has been fully understood. But the sword of Damocles...I have searched the entire world and still have not found how it was forged," Gilgamesh said with shock, his fingers delicately caressing the sword''s blade. "What material was used to make it? Was it the skeleton of some great beast, or some sort of advanced technology?"


    Regrettably, this world was not truly a world. There were no veins of metal, no copper or iron mines, and no ore deposits intentionally buried beneath the ground. This was originally just a common farmland and orchard, with only soil beneath the surface. Therefore, they were perpetually trapped in the Stone Age, with no concept of the word "metal" in their understanding of the world.


    To this world, this shining and hard material was both mysterious and powerful, and also unique.


    "We have found the edge of the world, but have yet to find that great intelligent beast, who knows where it lives in the world?" Gilgamesh took a deep breath.


    The civilization possessed by the intelligent beast was simply unfathomable. Even though this weapon, the sword of Damocles, was gifted to him and had opened up an entire civilization, it also served as a warning to him.


    He only possessed part of the power of this civilization, with the rest being unknown. The secret of how this sword was crafted was similar, and it made him feel frightened and apprehensive.


    The sword of Damocles was like a sword hanging over his head, providing him with the power of civilization ¨C powerful, mysterious, and allowing him to open up a brilliant future. However, it was also incredibly unsafe, and at any moment, the blade could fall and take his life.


    "The power of civilization...it truly is something to yearn for." Gilgamesh sat on his throne like a sleeping lion, slowly surveying the distance with his eyes, as if he were peering through the long years of the past, gazing at the ancient forest he had encountered a hundred years ago, the colossal giant towering over him with a height of ten thousand feet.


    Its whole body radiated a radiant light, and its enormous hands held a young Gilgamesh, overlooking the mountains and rivers below, and passing on to him three treasures of civilization.


    "Unfortunately, my life is reaching its end, and the power of blood is no longer effective for me. I want to live a third life...great intelligent beast, I want to see you again!"

 9 Searching for the Age of the Giants

    Unfortunately, at that time, Xu Zhi was eating and chatting with Chen Xi, while enjoying the delicious and nutritious farmer''s meal. He was happy and teasing the girl, and had no spare time to pay attention to him... and he didn''t want to. After all, even the mighty insect queen couldn''t achieve immortality. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have tried to break through the barren land and reach the legendary longevity realm to search for the possibility of extending her life before her lifespan ended. No species can live forever.


    Xu Zhi, who was a "farmer," was now suffering from terminal cancer, and he didn''t know when his stomach cancer would reach its advanced stage, causing him to die suddenly, even without the happiness of a normal death.


    "And this king of the land? He is really lucky, with a glorious and legendary life that will be written in the epic poems of future generations. I even envy him." Xu Zhi laughed.


    He lived a legendary life that made even Xu Zhi jealous, with great achievements and accomplishments, he initiated the origin of civilization. In his tribe, he married over three hundred beautiful wives in his lifetime. What more could he regret?


    Nothing.


    If Xu Zhi could become small, he would even enter the story and enjoy a carefree and happy immortal life, but in his opinion, there was nothing to regret in such a life and death, especially for someone suffering from terminal illness like him. He was already very satisfied.


    "Let''s go, let''s go to the city and buy a washing machine." Xu Zhi stood at the gate of the courtyard and touched his thick, black hair.


    "Xu Zhi ge, you can ride on my electric bike!" Chen Xi smiled and scratched her head. "Actually, I have a lot of professional questions I want to ask you. After all, you are a senior in our school, and I''m also studying the same major as you!"


    "Okay." Xu Zhi smiled.


    He didn''t buy a car since he only had a few hundred thousand savings from his previous job. After spending most of his savings on chemotherapy, he couldn''t afford to buy a good car, and now he only had a bicycle in his courtyard. Therefore, he had to ride on the electric bike of this girl to go out.


    Then, Xu Zhi and the girl rode the electric bike to the city and had a happy shopping trip. They bought electrical appliances to improve their rural life. After all, in this modern city, there were no electrical devices in their home, which made life difficult. He behaved very casually this time, thinking that Gilgamesh would be as calm as the first time.


    If rebellion cannot defy aging, then one must silently accept death, just as he did with his decision to give up the piece of paper and enjoy the last moments of his life. However, he overlooked one thing: humans are creatures who are never satisfied once they have obtained satisfaction.


    The first time he faced death, Gilgamesh almost resigned himself to fate. But after experiencing the fear and rebirth that came with dying a second time, he became ecstatic and began to fear death even more deeply. This heroic monarch wished to live a third life.


    ...


    In the 102nd year of the Sumerian Dynasty, Gilgamesh was 142 years old. This legendary king, who had ruled for over a century and whose lifespan was three times that of an ordinary citizen, suddenly began to show signs of aging. He was completely shocked and enraged the world, issuing an edict to mobilize the entire country in search of the Wise Beast.


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    "A reward will be given to anyone who finds the trail of the Wise Beast!"


    At the same time, he gathered all the talented and strange people from all over the world to begin concocting potions and studying black magic.


    For a time, a large number of primitive beasts from the deep forests were slaughtered, and their horns, hearts, and various body parts were used for experimentation. Even the once-thriving Allalarge beast was almost wiped out as a result.


    History entered the famous era of tyranny and city-states, where black wizards ran rampant.


    In the 113th year of the Sumerian Dynasty, a palace black wizard used the horns of a Dora, juice from white beard grass, and organs from various beasts to create a longevity potion that successfully extended Gilgamesh''s life. However, after several doses, it no longer worked, and he gradually began to deteriorate uncontrollably.


    Death is inevitable for any living creature, even the greatest heroes!


    In the 145th year of the Sumerian Dynasty, more than thirty years had passed. Gilgamesh felt that his life was rapidly deteriorating. The once-mighty old man sat on his throne, completely gray-haired and wrinkled all over. He sat calmly on the throne, not moving, and closed his eyes.


    "My life is about to come to an end, but I don''t want to die..."


    After three days of meditation, he finally opened his old eyes and chose to submit to time, ordering,


    "Select the next candidate for king!"


    Boom!


    The dynasty was in turmoil, and everyone was shaken.


    "The great king is dying!"


    "Even the immortal hero king Gilgamesh is approaching the end of his life?"


    But no one dared to speak out for a while.


    The last time Gilgamesh''s life deteriorated, he made his most trusted son, Kish the Aga, the next leader, but after living a second life, he personally killed his beloved son.


    Everyone was afraid of becoming the next Kish the Aga. If Gilgamesh could live again, he would surely kill the next generation of kings!


    At this moment, Gilgamesh proved to be the wisest king and directly ordered:


    "Candidates for the throne will receive the Blood of Strength! It will give them power comparable to mine, and they need not fear me! And, they will qualify to lead their own army and build the second capital city outside the palace."


    Permission to build a city!


    Bestowal of the Blood of Strength!


    When this news came out, the entire country was shocked.


    "The throne is mine!"


    "I will be the second king of Sumeria!"


    Countless merchants, slaves, commoners, nobles, and craftsmen flocked to the palace.


    In the end, countless people died, even after undergoing trials, and were unable to bear the Blood of Strength. Only two individuals, Enkidu the Forest Warrior and Ishtar the Steppe Barbarian, survived and established two city-states.


    The descendants of the two kings who possessed the Blood of Strength appeared, and they were about to alternate the throne and succeed the dying Gilgamesh, leading the next generation of Sumerian civilization.


    -Civilization began with Gilgamesh, but it could not end with him.


    175 years of the Sumerian dynasty.


    Three royal cities coexisted, and three kings jointly governed the world, ushering in an unprecedented era of prosperity for Sumerian city-states. Suddenly, Gilgamesh felt that death had come completely, and he began to struggle.


    He summoned craftsmen to build a temple and establish a Wisdom Beast Palace more exquisite than his own Uruk Palace, which housed the Wisdom Beast.


    In the huge stone temple, a towering giant god statue held the young hero king Gilgamesh in one hand, overlooking the vast land with a slight downward gaze, radiating stunning white divinity all over.


    On this day, he led all the ministers and millions of subjects to worship the Wisdom Beast, hoping that the great giant wisdom species would respond to his call.


    "If I could see the Wisdom Beast again before I die, that great and mysterious wisdom species, then..."


    Gilgamesh''s old face was covered in tears.


    88 years later, the dying Gilgamesh led the entire palace to worship the temple and begged to see the Wisdom Beast again:


    "Great Wisdom Beast, Gilgamesh wants to see you again!"

 10 Return to the sandbox.

    Dongcheng is quite a big city, and Xu Zhi and the girl wandered around for a while. He went to the mall and got a washing machine, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a bunch of other things, planning to modernize the old house. The mall owner naturally smiled from ear to ear. Nowadays, most people buy things online, and it''s rare to have a wealthy customer like Xu Zhi who visits physical stores, so the owner immediately offered to deliver the goods to the countryside.


    In fact, Xu Zhi wasn''t inclined to buy home appliances online. After all, their performance was mostly the same. He was mainly concerned with the appearance of the furniture and the actual combination of how to arrange a cleaner living environment.


    Next, Xu Zhi went with Chen Xi to some stores and got some instruments and equipment, such as high-pressure water guns, electric saws, and sprinklers to improve the farming tools. After all, these were necessary tools for creators!


    "Pack everything up and send it to the farm for free," said the owner, facing such a wealthy customer. Xu Zhi had already spent seven to eight thousand yuan in scattered equipment, but he still had 110,000 yuan in savings. He didn''t want to save anything in the short term, nor did he want to think too much about it. If he had money, he would spend it. After all, he had the financial ability to do so.


    On the way back, Xu Zhi rode an electric bike in front, with Chen Xi sitting behind him. She couldn''t help but touch Xu Zhi''s thick hair and suddenly pulled out a strand with force, causing Xu Zhi to feel pain and tears almost came out of his eyes. He grimaced and said, "What are you doing? So clumsy."


    Chen Xi was also very surprised and threw away the pulled-out hair. She was shocked, "What a solid hair! It took me so long to pull it out! Hey! What have you been through? What have you been through, hey!"


    Xu Zhi had a headache. Why was she so fixated on his hair? Can''t he grow hair if he wants to? He looked at her helplessly and painfully said, "I''ve told you, it''s chemotherapy, chemotherapy! It''s the after-effects of chemotherapy. I''ve recovered now, and I''m not naturally bald."


    "Really?" Chen Xi widened her eyes.


    "Yes, really," Xu Zhi said seriously.


    "That''s too exaggerated," Chen Xi was shocked on the spot. After all, they had been delivering food for several days. From the look of it, he didn''t seem to be on the brink of death. Did he really change like this just by recovering and exercising his body?


    She felt that something was not quite right. "You''re being paranoid, I''m too lazy to deal with you," Xu Zhi said, riding a cool electric bike with a stunned Chen Xi behind him. They rode on the dirt road in the countryside, occasionally passing cow dung on the ground. After all, the bike was not his. On both sides were neatly arranged farmland, and aunties and grandmas greeted them warmly from time to time.


    "Hey, Xiaozhi and Yatou just arrived in town!" "You young people should go out more often and explore." "Our village is aging, with those who study studying and those who work working. Now, only you two young people are left!" "Hello, Aunt Li and Uncle Zhang." Xu Zhi responded with a smile. "I''m taking Chen Xi out to buy some daily necessities." Warm sunshine poured down. It was already past six o''clock, and the sky could faintly see stars. Unlike the heavily polluted cities, the starry sky here in the countryside was exceptionally clear. Even in that miniature sandbox, during the fifty years of darkness, one could still see the brilliant and numerous stars and the round moon, understanding the vastness and infinite possibilities of the universe. "How small is our world? For them, the long period of over two hundred years, experiencing five or six generations of life and death, has only been two days for me, just a trip outside to buy something...." Xu Zhi smiled, bid farewell to Chen Xi, and returned to the courtyard to look at the sandbox. Just then, he learned from the Nest''s Vice Brain that Gilgamesh was going to die soon. "It''s probably tonight, even within half an hour," said the Nest''s Vice Brain. "So soon? There''s no sense of reality at all." In the orchard courtyard, Xu Zhi was stunned. He was silently peeling an orange with a small knife, and a complete orange peel ribbon dropped out, loop after loop. Suddenly, the knife shook. It broke. "What a pity it didn''t get peeled successfully." Xu Zhi scratched his head, thought for a moment, and stood up. That tiny insect ape from back then, who had managed to come this far and write an epic of life, was truly admirable. He had only given him some tools; it was not possible for anyone to give a lever of civilization and move the entire history, becoming a great person. Undoubtedly, Gilgamesh was an outstanding king, despite his many flaws and brutality. The insect ape race he had created back then, called the "Baldies" Baldies", eventually multiplied. "Forget it, since he wants to see me, I''ll go see him. I can''t change his lifespan, but it''s still good to see an old friend, and I also have to stop this race. I didn''t expect that in just a few days, they would destroy countless ecologies and extinct many species. They conquer, wage war, kill, and show no mercy to the ecology. At this rate, I estimate that the sandbox will collapse soon, with countless species extinct, leaving only them behind. I must persuade them to exercise restraint." Xu Zhi stood up, put down the orange, and realized that it had only been a short while. It wouldn''t be too late to eat it later. "Slow down their time flow rate and restore it to normal."


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    After finishing speaking, Xu Zhi slowly stepped into the sand table wearing blue laboratory shoe covers.


    Step, step, step.


    The ground was slightly shaking, mountains, rivers, earth, and oceans.


    Trees were trampled, huge footprints were left in the valleys, and countless beasts in the dense forest were running madly.


    "This is..."


    "The city, is it about to collapse?"


    Gradually, the entire Uruk Royal City seemed to be trembling slightly, and the city walls, houses, ground, streets, and the pedestrians like ants all had slightly terrified expressions.


    Gilgamesh led the ministers and knelt on the ground. Suddenly, he felt something. This great hero king, with an aging face, showed a childlike joy for the first time, "After two hundred years, the great wise beast that I saw in my childhood, the one that gave me the three treasures of civilization, has finally returned..."


    The ground was shaking, and the whole Uruk city was jumping slightly.


    This round and towering city, which accommodated tens of millions of people, was just a slightly larger disc than a dining table in Xu Zhi''s eyes.


    After all, it was a city of ant-sized creatures, and it was already extremely magnificent.


    Exquisite beyond compare, every detail was meticulously crafted, exquisite and luxurious, and every detail reached the microscopic scale of ants. What kind of beauty was this?


    It was like the most perfect fortress in the world.


    Although this giant city was not very strong, their civilization was still too primitive. They didn''t know how to build a part of the city wall''s pillar into the foundation buried deep in the mud, causing it to tremble slightly when Xu Zhi stepped on it.


    "This is also related to their inability to use cement. The simple jointing of stones results in low stability." Xu Zhi walked towards the royal city with big steps. Pieces of green trees were trampled underfoot, and he finally arrived at the ancient Nordic city that had already possessed civilization.


    He surveyed the exquisite altars and temples in the city.


    The old hero king with a snow-white body and a handsome and aged face was looking up at himself, holding the sword of Damocles and shedding crystal tears.

 11Dialogue and Choices before Death

    "In a tiny civilized world, there existed intelligent beings similar to ants in size. Xu Zhi lowered his head and looked at the intelligent species that had evolved and reproduced step by step within the constraints of their physical size. The elderly man with tears streaming down his face felt a sense of regret. In his youth, he had held a juvenile ape in his hands, who stood atop a towering tree and brandished the sword of Damocles while shouting to the heavens. Now he was at the end of his days, and his youthful ambition and arrogance seemed as though it was just yesterday... but in fact, it had been only a few days ago.


    To me, their seemingly endless eons were only a fleeting moment.


    "Gilgamesh, have you been doing well all these years?" Xu Zhi asked softly, his voice penetrating the vast clouds and reaching the bustling city of Uruk far below, on top of the central palace.


    Gilgamesh trembled as he held his sacred sword, his throat parched and hoarse, gazing up at the towering giant in the sky.


    "Well... I''ve been doing okay."


    Even though it wasn''t the first time he had seen it, the magnificent spectacle still moved him. The massive giant pierced the clouds with a height of ten thousand feet, its body seeming to hold up the entire sky and earth, its intense radiance covering its face, and a faint, bright light shining through the clouds, a holy light that was as pure as snow. Its eyes, located between the clouds, were immeasurably deep.


    The giant overlooked the entire city of Uruk.


    Majestic, great, solemn, and sacred, no words in the world could describe the shockingly beautiful beauty of it!


    "Oh my god!"


    "It actually exists!"


    Millions of people in the city, including leather-clad merchants, ragged slaves, noblewomen in long dresses, commoners, and craftsmen, put down their work and left their shops and houses to stand in the street, gazing up at the colossal giant that pierced the sky.


    "The legendary intelligent species that gave us the gift of civilization, the wise behemoth..."


    "A super-large giant with a height of ten thousand feet."


    "What a magnificent and vast life form, comparable to the sky''s sun, moon, and stars!"


    They were all lost in the shock, their minds blank, filled with complex emotions such as admiration, awe, and fear, which ultimately transformed into unparalleled admiration.


    The palace ministers around him were also stunned, which made Gilgamesh laugh, as he remembered his first encounter with the giant, and the same feeling of shock.


    After a moment of silence, Gilgamesh looked up with a longing gaze. "Wise behemoth, I have passed on the civilization you entrusted to me over a hundred years ago."


    Xu Zhi''s voice was like a passage through the vast and ancient giants, resounding and penetrating through the clouds, sprinkling down on the city of Uruk below. "Your great achievements will be recorded in the Sumerian epic, Genesis, which you have ordered to be written. You will be the greatest first generation king in the history of Sumerian civilization, the hero king Gilgamesh. In the future, history will sing your praises."


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    "No, the glory of a thousand years after death, living on in an epic passed down through generations, that is not what I want," Gilgamesh suddenly became excited.


    "What do you want?"


    "I want eternal life like you," Gilgamesh looked up at the towering giant with an intense desire, "I am willing to give up everything, willing to pay any price, please give me the three treasures of eternal life!"


    Xu Zhi remained silent for a moment.


    At this moment, King Gilgamesh had almost everything in the world - glory, women, power, wealth - the world belonged to him, but he was still unsatisfied. Longevity, Xu Zhi wanted it too!


    Xu Zhi was currently suffering from a terminal illness and was on the brink of death. He was extremely envious of Gilgamesh''s magnificent life, like an epic tale.


    "Gilgamesh, you are too greedy. I do not possess the three treasures of eternal life," Xu Zhi calmly looked at the aging king, "the cycle of life and death is a natural law, and I cannot alter it."


    At the end of life, everyone longs to live on.


    At this moment, Xu Zhi seemed to be lamenting himself.


    Identity and status were erased at this moment, and the scale of countless civilizations was crossed. He and Gilgamesh were just two pitiful species waiting for decay, facing the fear of death.


    No matter if it''s an emperor or an ant, they cannot escape the fate of becoming dust and bones.


    Xu Zhi suddenly wanted to say:


    "I am just like you, facing death."


    But he didn''t. He just looked down at the king''s city with deep emotion.


    "No... no..." Gilgamesh''s throat was hoarse as he looked at the huge and sacred face in the clouds, "No, you are deceiving me. You can do it, you clearly can!"


    His eyes were burning with excitement as he looked at Xu Zhi''s sturdy and young body, towering like a mountain range and solid like a boulder. He had aged over two hundred years, but had never left a single trace on this great giant.


    Time for him seemed like yesterday.


    As the most mysterious and intelligent species, the Wise Beast, to him, was eternal.


    "What incredible power, what a desirable long life..."


    Gilgamesh''s lips trembled as he spoke in a low, menacing tone. Suddenly he threw his head back and couldn''t help but roar, "So you came in response to my call, to witness my death? A pitiful and pathetic life, trembling in the face of death."


    "I have come to bid you farewell, and not to extend your life. I am also here for the second exchange of civilization and to issue a warning." Xu Zhi sighed and said, "Your civilization is too cruel. You exterminate the surrounding creatures, destroy the forests, slaughter the giant beasts, and trample on the land. True civilization is not brutal or savage. I demand that you stop your killing!"


    "Stop, the killing?" Gilgamesh, with his towering and silver-haired physique, was still robust. He suddenly trembled and shuddered all over, his eyes burning like a raging flame, growing stronger and stronger. The elderly man took a step forward, "No, killing cannot be stopped. My footsteps cannot be stopped! Do you know that in all these years, the sword you gave me, the sword of Damocles, hung high above my head? It has given me great power, but also unmatched fear... And today, I will pull out the sword that hangs over my head with my own hands!"


    "Akkad."


    "Here, my lord." The court historian in charge of compiling "Genesis" stepped forward.


    "Record the history of our civilization at this moment. I say, and you write." Gilgamesh''s voice was decisive.


    On the red platform, Akkad silently picked up a goose feather quill and unrolled a gray animal skin paper. "Your Majesty, speak."


    "The history of mankind''s struggle against nature is a history of courage and glory... My intention in ordering the compilation of "Genesis" was to leave the history for future generations, to let them understand the courage of our ancestors'' struggle against nature."


    "Now, let history record my moment of courage."


    Gilgamesh took a deep, rugged breath and, leaning on the sword of Damocles, laughed and explained, "In the 175th year of the Sumerian dynasty, after slaying the strongest legendary power monster Fimbul, the hero king Gilgamesh, who had been sealed for over a hundred years, once again used his strength to lure a wise giant beast to appear and attempted to strike it down with his sword."

 12 Obstacles to Civilization

    "Will you slay my son again, or will you slay me this time?" Xu Zhi''s face was complex and surprised, but he remained calm. He seemed daring, but it was just his nature. He looked at Gilgamesh, the so-called King of Heroes. The last time they met, Xu Zhi had barely survived and had gone on to kill his own beloved son. Now, facing his own death for the second time, Gilgamesh was about to strike with the sword Xu Zhi had gifted him - one of three treasures that represented civilization. Perhaps Xu Zhi should have realized from the start that choosing a young, brave insect among a group of trembling apes who dared to shout at a towering giant would mean something significant. He was unafraid to face the sword himself; it was simply his nature. Xu Zhi said calmly, "Gilgamesh, I warn you for the last time, stop your violence. This is barbarism, not civilization. What you do next will come at a great cost to you." "There is no cost greater than death," replied Gilgamesh, his bright red eyes slowly opening. He seemed to be transported back to his youth, exuding a passion and madness that he had long since forgotten. "Just like when I was young and went to slay the Fenba beast with a death wish, today, I will slay the wise beast, steal his civilization, and seize his power to achieve true immortality." "I will lead my people to challenge you!" His muscles tensed, and his snow-white skin glistened like a Nordic god. With a fierce roar, he raised his sword high, and the wind whipped his silver locks wildly. "This is the first collision of two civilizations, where one wise civilization challenges another unique wise beast... Wise beast, even though you once guided our civilization, you are now blocking our path." With a clang, a deep and distant sound of a stone bell rang out, and the entire city of Uruk boiled over. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered in the city, forming a dense and orderly array. Xu Zhi watched the scene and sighed. "Gilgamesh had prepared for this moment more than ten years ago, before I even knew about it. Everyone is now armed... Today, he has only brought me here, and if I don''t agree to his terms, he will kill me." Brave and cunning, from this perspective, he was indeed a great tyrant.


    On the Mesopotamian Plain, the Ur plain was a vast city. Ishdar stood calmly in front of the palace. Even though it was far away, she could still see the towering giant standing beside the royal city, with a holy radiance shining through the clouds. "What a magnificent and perfect life." Ishdar was shocked, but her pupils shrank slightly. "It''s time to take action. If it weren''t for finding help, how could Gilgamesh, with his dictatorship and barbarism, give the precious blood of power to others? He has been looking for other helpers since the beginning." Tatata! She lightly leaped up, mounted the Alra beast, put on a black felt hat, and swung a black stone hammer made from the bones of the giant beast. "Mother! Grandmother! Great-grandmother!" There were countless men and women on the plain who hesitated to speak. "Zaern, are you still alive?" Ishdar suddenly turned her head. A young man showed a bitter expression, "Grandma, Father is already lying in bed and is about to die..." "My son, wait for me, Ishdar, the King of the Grassland, to come back and continue your life!" Ishdar flashed a trace of sadness and longing, looking at the towering giant in the distance, extremely eager, "I am not Gilgamesh, who can kill his own son with his own hands. I cannot bear to see my son, grandson, and all of them die in front of me. I want to get more blood of power, even the blood of the intelligent giant beast, which may be the blood of immortality..." "Set out." She suddenly slapped the Alra beast under her body, revealing the bravery and courage of the barbarians on the grassland, and led the most elite barbarian cavalry army to set off. "History will remember this great moment. In the 175th year of the Sumerian Dynasty, the Sumerians will kill the intelligent giant beast and drink the blood of immortality and return!!!" ... The divine tree near the capital city. This towering ancient tree that once pierced the sky and was used to test three civilized treasures had been abandoned for a long time. At this moment, a prosperous Enkidu forest city was built on the tree. On the highest treehouse, on the trunk of the balcony outside, Enkidu leaned on a wooden crutch, quietly watching the shocking scene of the terrifying giant towering into the sky in the distance, with several disciples standing quietly behind him. "Teacher, it''s time to go. We promised the king and should fulfill it..." Someone reminded him softly behind him.


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    "No, we resist the decree, we Enkidu''s Forest Citadel, choose to do nothing," Enkidu sighed, even though he looked towards the royal city from a distance, the terrifying power of the giant still oppressed him to the point of breathlessness. "Is it fear that grips our teacher?" A frank disciple couldn''t help but ask, "The three great royal cities, the three most powerful kings in Sumeria joining forces, even the legendary wise giant may not be able to withstand it..." "No, it''s not fear, I do not fear death, but I fear abandoning something more important than life," Enkidu said softly, "My civilization and wisdom make it impossible for me to slaughter like a cruel beast, a wise giant who could give us civilization and save our race, without gratitude and morality, that would be no different from a wild animal... my disciples, tell me! Are we now to become barbarians?" The disciples remained silent. Their teacher was one of the three strongest leaders of the royal cities, the great forest hero king who survived on the power of the blood, but... "I resist going to war, and there is no forgiveness for my crime, behead me," Enkidu looked at his most trusted disciple, Utanapishtim. "If His Majesty wins, take my head to the palace, I am guilty of resisting the decree, and with His Majesty''s tyranny, I am already doomed to death, this is my own idea, please do not harm the Forest Citadel..." "If the wise giant wins, then take my head and give it to the wise giant, pray for the great giant''s forgiveness, let the wise giant know that we still have true inheritors of civilization, not purely barbaric, pray for not completely wiping out our race, leaving a glimmer of hope." "Teacher..." Beside him, Utanapishtim, the most trusted disciple, remained silent, looking at this great Sumerian sage. "Kill me then." Enkidu stood on the outside balcony of the highest treehouse, calmly spreading his arms. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth, and blood bloomed. Splat! Utanapishtim beheaded his teacher. Enkidu, one of the strongest heroes of Sumerian civilization, the Forest King, died without resistance. Utanapishtim looked at the familiar and peaceful face of his teacher''s severed head, silently wrapped it in animal skin, and suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. Vaguely, he knew that something incredibly important in life was slowly breaking apart. ... The sky trembled. "Fire!" Countless black-red arrows and spears, like thorns, pierced the dense clouds of the sky and shot towards the terrifying wise giant. The earth moaned, shaking violently. Countless elite soldiers, like ants, charged forward. Inside the city, countless stone buildings collapsed, one after another, as if a toy fortress built with blocks was constantly crumbling. Commoners and women fled...


    Screams of agony, cries of sorrow, mad roars, dying screams of anger, explosions, beastly howls, maniacal laughter, countless sounds interweave together. The once-mighty Uruk King City has become a bloody battlefield.

 13 Prospects for potential.

    Xu Zhi had never thought that something like this would happen. The mechanical voice of the insect queen''s nest echoed in his mind: "Should we exterminate them?" With absolute control over the spores he had produced and the millions of creatures that had evolved from them, including the tiny primate in front of him, Xu Zhi considered the proposal. He whispered to himself, "Gilgamesh fused with termite genes, and now he''s much stronger than his own kind, with a lifespan several times longer. Has he transcended?"


    "No, it''s just the first step in unlocking the genetic code. True transcendence is breaking away from passive evolution and taking complete control of the genetic chain. He cannot adjust gene sequences or identify blank gene fragments to incorporate a third gene." Xu Zhi sighed. It wasn''t going to be easy.


    Even when spores were released onto a planet, only a few heroic members of the insect race managed to transcend, yet there were three in front of him. They had incorporated a second gene not only because of their strong willpower and extraordinary talent but also because their genetic chain had large blank spaces. However, the second gene was the limit. It was difficult to incorporate a third gene if they couldn''t sort out their own genetic chain and identify blank gene fragment locations. Although Gilgamesh had not yet achieved this, he undoubtedly had potential. But possessing potential did not mean he would become arrogant, tyrannical, or destroy the ecology of this sandbox-like world, bringing a barbaric civilization.


    "Secondary brain, no need for you to exterminate them." After considering it for a moment, Xu Zhi said calmly, "Let me see Gilgamesh''s power and why he dares to challenge me."


    In fact, Xu Zhi had been strengthened by two biological extinctions, and not only had the side effects of chemotherapy been removed, but his physique had also become much stronger, reaching the level of regular exercise and fitness. Gilgamesh''s strength, on the other hand, was only due to his possession of ant genes. Ants could lift objects many times their weight, but could they harm humans? It was unlikely. So, with a sword in his hand, Gilgamesh, who was the size of an ant and had the strength of one, was like a tiny insect to Xu Zhi, who wanted to assess his strength.


    Boom! Countless arrows were shot from the ground, but the finest army in Sumer was still nothing more than a group of ants. Their arrows were sharp, but their strength was too weak. With the size of ants but not their strength, their swords and spears stabbed at Xu Zhi''s pants, getting stuck in his thick blue jeans like tiny thorns in the woods during a mountain hike.


    "Incapable even the most elite army from piercing his clothes?" Gilgamesh''s face showed a slight shock, but he quickly calmed down and took big strides forward. "I had guessed it already. My elite army that conquered forests and countless giant beasts was useless against the size of these wise beasts."


    Step!


    With a slight step forward, he flew seven or eight meters like a white snow shadow and landed on the heel of Xu Zhi''s shoe. He then continuously jumped up with his sword in hand, following the folds of Xu Zhi''s blue jeans. In the blink of an eye, he had reached Xu Zhi''s knees.


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    "So fast, this speed is almost faster than the previous flea," Xu Zhi''s face showed a slight awe.


    A single ant possessed a terrifying jumping power that was similar to a flea, which was indeed not simple.


    Xu Zhi waved his hand and stepped forward.


    "Give up!" The old hero king wielding the sword bent down and made a half-crouched posture, jumping lightly like the most ferocious leopard.


    Another step and Xu Zhi continued to jump at high speed, making agile lightning jumps in a zigzag pattern, climbing up along the folds of the jeans. It was extremely difficult, "Is this the wise beast? Just the waves caused by its gestures and movements could almost blow me away."


    He seemed to be climbing up an ancient totem pillar that penetrated deep into the clouds. For humans, the jeans were flat, but for creatures the size of ants, they were a fine blue mesh canvas woven with threads, which was a very simple climbing terrain.


    "Your Majesty, Ishdall has come to support!"


    At this time, another grassland king, Ishdall, arrived. She was a European and American figure with streamlined muscles, holding a giant hammer made of a beast bone. She jumped lightly and also jumped seven or eight meters high, landing on Xu Zhi''s pant leg.


    "Another one has come."


    Xu Zhi reached out to grab Ishdall. Faced with such a vast palm like a mountain, she lightly jumped and dodged away, jumping up along Xu Zhi''s huge body. She also had extremely strong fighting skills, having fought with giant beasts for countless years. Her strong and scar-covered physique was worthy of the great name of Grassland King.


    "Her movements were just as quick, but the test was almost over," Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then suddenly extended her hand and accelerated towards Ishdahl. "For your size, you are fast, but because of my size, I am faster." With a loud smack, Ishdahl''s face turned pale and she didn''t even have time to react. It was like Xu Zhi had slapped a black mosquito and she was instantly sent flying, spitting out large amounts of blood. In the next second, Xu Zhi extended her hand again and with a powerful force, slapped Gilgamesh with a force that could topple mountains and rivers. "Damn it! You actually-" Gilgamesh''s face was full of shock and he could only react for a moment, then he swung an amazing sword, blocking in front of him. The hand collided with the sword body. Crash!! He flew out, quickly falling from high in the sky. They were both climbing up Xu Zhi''s waist, a position over one meter high. For their size, it was equivalent to falling from a kilometer high in the sky. Tiny ants could fall from a height of one or two meters without harm because they had no bones and their body structure allowed it. However, these miniature apes with human skeletons, falling from a kilometer high, were basically dead due to the incredible impact force. However, they did not die instantly even though they coughed up large amounts of blood and their entire bodies were broken. Their vitality was extremely tenacious. Xu Zhi was surprised to see the wound on her hand, cut by Gilgamesh. Blood was slowly oozing out. "He actually wounded me. What a brilliant sword technique! In terms of their body size, they do have a terrifying power. If their body size were proportional to that of humans, they would be like superheroes, able to fly over buildings, dodge bullets, and have terrifying vitality that could survive falling from a helicopter at a kilometer high, similar to the terrifying Hulk or Spider-Man!" This was already a preliminary manifestation of extraordinary abilities! Indeed, Xu Zhi''s guess was correct. The smaller the body size, the easier it was to accumulate energy and cause qualitative changes. However, a green giant or Spider-Man the size of an ant or a slightly thicker hair was just a miniature creature, and their body size was naturally unable to pose a fatal threat to Xu Zhi. "One move." "I actually lost and only managed to scratch her skin..." At this point, Gilgamesh gave a wry smile and lay in a pool of blood, his bones shattered. He looked up at Xu Zhi, the giant with clouds and mist around her, whose whole body was faintly radiant with a white light.