Xu Zhi quickly stepped out of his orchard courtyard, standing by the entrance to chat with Chen Xi.
"What exactly are you doing all day? Does farming really make you that happy?" Chen Xi peeked curiously into the yard, seeing nothing but lush vegetables thriving abundantly in the fields. She lowered her voice in frustration, "Hey! I'm really upset. Is it because I'm not pretty enough? You hardly ever come looking for your cute girlfriend."
"Don't I often go shopping with you and ride around on your scooter every morning?" Xu Zhi said calmly, facing her small grudge.
Though farming occupied most of his day, he wasn't exactly a shut-in. He regularly took morning walks and enjoyed scooter rides with her, living a leisurely life. But truthfully, he still found farming more enjoyable than dating.
"That's different! You spend an hour with me and then farm all day." Chen Xi protested softly. "I've even started learning relationship advice to date you properly. Am I really not attractive enough?"
"What exactly are you studying?" Xu Zhi laughed in surprise.
"I have to go back to school in four days," Chen Xi pouted, suddenly growing melancholy. "Summer vacation is ending."
Xu Zhi paused, holding the lunch box. Only then did he realize summer vacation was indeed nearly over. He snapped out of his recent battles of wits with those ridiculous players in the sandbox. Honestly, he would miss the delicious daily lunchboxes she made for him.
He was deeply aware of how Chen Xi felt about him. She'd stood by him when he was at his lowest point, diagnosed with a terminal illness, willingly becoming his girlfriend to accompany him through his remaining days.
After a moment of thought, he comforted her. "A long-distance relationship isn't a big deal. We can always call or video chat."
He'd already planned a cozy rural lifestyle: daily phone chats, scenic countryside walks, farming, and managing his sandbox world. It sounded peaceful enough.
"No way! It's totally different," Chen Xi stubbornly protested, looking exactly like a clingy lover facing separation. "Phone calls and video chats aren't the same as really being together."
Xu Zhi paused, then smiled and asked, "By the way, have you ever heard of the game called 'Spore Evolution'?"
"Nope," Chen Xi answered, confused. As a pure-hearted young woman, she usually played simple, casual games.
"It's exactly that—a relaxing sandbox game, similar to 'Minecraft.' Very free and casual," Xu Zhi explained patiently. "You've played those sandbox-building games before, right?"
"'Minecraft'? Sure, I've played it," Chen Xi nodded this time.
"Supposedly, this sandbox game is revolutionary, fully immersive—a complete second world. We could meet in there, just like in real life. Way better than video chatting," Xu Zhi suggested gently.
"Really?" Chen Xi's eyes widened in surprise. "A totally immersive second world? We can really meet up inside it?"
Xu Zhi paused briefly before adding, "But the beta test slots require submitting a scientific paper about evolution."
Chen Xi immediately froze, eyes wide with suspicion. "A scientific paper...? Are you sure this is a casual game?"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," Xu Zhi reassured her. "Once you're back at school, just download the game. I'll hire someone to write the paper for you and get you a beta slot. All you have to do is log in. But the computers at your school probably aren't powerful enough. I'll buy you a suitable gaming PC—about twenty thousand yuan."
"Love you!" Chen Xi squealed excitedly, planting a quick kiss on Xu Zhi's cheek before blushing and dashing away happily.
Xu Zhi stood by the courtyard gate, lightly touching his cheek and smiling. "Throw some cash around and a few sweet words, and any girl melts instantly."
As a creator, he'd endured countless betrayals from rebellious spore players and Gilgamesh's constant desire to kill him. Compared to that, making his girlfriend happy seemed trivial. Obtaining a beta slot was just a matter of his word.
Though buying a new gaming PC would cut into his savings—bringing him down from a hundred thousand yuan to eighty thousand—it wasn't a big deal. "Money comes and goes. I'll find ways to earn more," Xu Zhi comforted himself, untroubled. After all, he had plenty of methods to generate income.
Their usual dates were just scenic rides and casual chats anyway. Shifting their meetings to the mini-sandbox seemed fitting. The landscape there was spectacular: beautiful mountains, clear waters, and countless bizarre creatures running about—a wonderfully fantastic world perfect for dating.
Xu Zhi chuckled inwardly. The mini-sandbox had become incredibly useful, even serving as their romantic meeting place.
Having resolved Chen Xi's worries about their upcoming long-distance relationship, Xu Zhi felt relaxed again, standing by the gate, lunchbox in hand.
——
Meanwhile, inside the courtyard sandbox…
"'Genesis'? What's this?"
A group of players exclaimed in shock.
"How did the term 'Genesis' suddenly appear in our Spore Evolution sandbox? Could it be a hidden plotline or some kind of lore behind this game?"
The players chattered excitedly, feeling they'd stumbled upon a great discovery. The game's freedom and realism had consistently amazed them, and now they'd seemingly triggered a main storyline!
"Yes, attacking the Boss definitely activated a cutscene!"
All the players, veterans of various online games, immediately recognized the signs of uncovering hidden lore. Western fantasy, Eastern cultivation—every online RPG had background lore, and now it seemed their casual sandbox also had deep worldbuilding.
"This game has a backstory? I thought we were just evolving random spores!"
"Dev team's amazing. So hardcore yet so generous, leaving lore for us to uncover!"
Excited and odd-looking creatures gathered around a giant book page in fervent discussion.
"Stop wasting time!" AutumnMountainSpeed shouted. "Let's hurry and turn to the next page to see what this 'Genesis' says! Damn! We even have to manually flip pages to trigger the background lore?"
Everyone scrambled off the huge page, urgently flipping to the next. On it were three words: "Cryptic Era."
[The Cryptic Era: Heaven and Earth shifted dramatically. Day fell and moon rose, plunging the world into five thousand years of darkness. Ninety-nine percent of marine life perished. Only the Blue Moon Grass survived, thriving and becoming the dominant lifeform of that epoch.]
The first great extinction event?
Players trembled in awe.
"Are these ancient historical epochs?"
"No time to waste! Use VR to record everything—we'll review it later. The Boss will return soon. Next page!" someone yelled urgently.
Players snapped from their awe, adrenaline pumping from excitement.
They quickly turned the next page, which read: "Radiant Era."
[The Radiant Era: The world changed again. The moon set and sun rose, creating five thousand years of intense daylight. Blue Moon Grass, ruler of the previous era, went extinct. A weaker branch, Purple Azolla, suddenly rose to dominance.]
A second mass extinction?
Players grew increasingly anxious, flipping hurriedly again to read: "Newborn Era."
[Newborn Era: Life flourished anew. Diverse animal species emerged. Initially, marine invertebrates with shells dominated, but soon vertebrates evolved, quickly overtaking them to rule this era.]
What was all this?
They half-understood, half-confused. The sandbox world's lore seemed complex yet fascinating, beyond their wildest guesses.
When they turned the next page, reaching the fourth epoch, everyone gasped in shock:
["Genesis": Intelligent life emerged. Apemen built city-states, dominated the beasts, but their cruelty angered Heaven. A great flood descended, annihilating 99% of all life—the third mass extinction.]
Intelligent life? City-states? A great flood!?
The players gasped sharply, stunned. They hurriedly turned another page, reaching the ongoing fifth era. This page had Xu Zhi's freshly written text:
["Era of Witches": The God of Wisdom, Hermes, communicated with mortals. The Three Witches pioneered witchcraft. In Babylon Year 198, the Witches passed away. Heaven mourned them with divine miracles…]
The God of Wisdom? Hermes!?
What in the world was all this?
Players stood frozen, their minds utterly blank, realizing an incredibly vast and magnificent sandbox world was unfolding before them.