After finishing everything, Xu Zhi finally felt relaxed.
He had successfully created his first truly promising species, and naturally, he felt quite pleased. Even though the tiny sandbox in his orchard was full of rebellious little ants—noisy and always plotting against him—they had still managed to evolve some unexpectedly useful creatures.
After eating dinner, he left the courtyard and returned to the kitchen, quietly washing his lunchbox.
"Even a Creator has to wash his own dishes," Xu Zhi joked dryly to himself.
After returning the clean lunchbox to Chen Xi next door, Xu Zhi didn't immediately go back to his sandbox. Instead, he leisurely rode his bicycle down the tranquil country roads, accompanied by the soothing sounds of insects and birds.
A sudden thought struck him, prompting him to ask the Hive Mind:
"By the way, if I integrate this Phoenix's genes—especially the 'Rebirth by Fire' trait—into my body and then deliberately end my own life, could I be reborn anew from an egg, free of cancer?"
"Yes, you could," the Hive Mind answered mechanically.
Xu Zhi immediately felt excited. Finally, a cure for my cancer!
This goofy player had truly evolved a magnificent creature. A phoenix! Its genes were unbelievably powerful. Perhaps he could finally cure himself after all!
But then, another question crept into his mind:
"Wait, after rebirth, would I still be myself?"
"No," the Hive Mind explained. "After rebirth, your body would be occupied by your biological offspring. Your original consciousness would cease to exist."
My offspring?
Xu Zhi was dumbstruck.
So if he died, his child would immediately inherit his body, his orchard, all his wealth, the sandbox, and even his girlfriend, Chen Xi?!
The thought made his scalp tingle with horror.
"What a terrifying gene... this is basically the greenest cuckoldry ever!" Xu Zhi exclaimed aloud, shaking his head while cycling down the moonlit rural lane. "I'd be literally singing 'Green Light' by Sun Yan Zi to myself! There's no way I'm touching that gene, even if it could make me immortal."
Xu Zhi decisively abandoned that line of thought. Even if he died from cancer, he wouldn't want to continue existing like this—having his descendants continually taking over his life.
Instead, he shifted his thoughts to another subject.
With the introduction of the phoenix and the toxic birds, the larger sandbox now had a more diverse ecosystem. Now, the world had two supernatural species, including a genuine Fire God—the Phoenix—plus himself as the God of Wisdom. It could now genuinely be considered a world of multiple gods.
The fundamental system of his wizard civilization had now taken shape.
"Hopefully, the phoenix develops quickly. Every time it undergoes rebirth, it becomes stronger. Even though it's just been born, it's already comparable to the legendary three witches at level six. With the three witches now gone, the phoenix will be virtually unbeatable in the sandbox world, a true Fire God. Now I just need it to awaken its intelligence soon."
Xu Zhi brought his bicycle to a halt.
Surrounded by lush woods and a tranquil stream flowing gently under the moonlight, it was the ideal rural setting to practice his magic.
After all, using magic freely in his orchard sandbox was problematic; even a casual mistake could lead to a disaster for his tiny civilizations.
"Hammer of War!"
Xu Zhi concentrated his spiritual power.
A surge of invisible spiritual pressure condensed the air in front of him, briefly forming a solid shape before dissipating silently.
"Hammer of War!" Xu Zhi repeated, calmly raising his hand.
This time, the air quickly condensed, forming transparent ripples that solidified into an invisible hammer. With a quiet yet powerful swing, it smashed into the stream before him.
Boom!
The water splashed upward impressively.
"I succeeded on my second try. After experiencing three mass extinctions, my spiritual potential is truly terrifying." Xu Zhi breathed deeply, unable to hide his excitement.
Who wouldn't feel thrilled? This was supernatural power straight from fantasy, a childhood dream of every boy—becoming a wizard, a mecha pilot, or a magical hero like Harry Potter.
Practicing repeatedly, Xu Zhi quickly grew familiar with the "Hammer of War," a wind-elemental spell. His talent was extraordinarily high; he learned and improved at an astonishing speed, easily ten times faster than the three witches.
After all, he was already an Insectoid Hero—he'd removed all useless, redundant genes, becoming a perfected higher organism. If Xu Zhi personally entered the sandbox world and spent his life evolving himself, he could easily surpass the three witches.
But Xu Zhi had no intention of spending a lifetime doing that. After all, the three witches had dedicated over two centuries to pioneering the wizardry path. Xu Zhi preferred to leave such grueling efforts to others.
"They've already begun using staffs and similar mediums to cast spells, laying the foundations of alchemy. Unfortunately, creating such a staff in real life is challenging," Xu Zhi mused. "Otherwise, my spell's power would increase by at least thirty percent."
He practiced for about an hour. With Medea's "Hammer of War," he now possessed basic self-defense. Its instantaneous impact could easily crush a human chest, enough to keep him safe from harm.
Satisfied, Xu Zhi returned home. Only after he stepped into his courtyard did he remember something he'd completely forgotten.
He'd forgotten to restart the sandbox game!
Sure enough, when he checked the online forums, players were already rioting.
—"Beta day one: Half day playing, half day maintenance!"
—"Too hardcore! Outrageously hardcore!"
—"Player rage at boiling point! Drag out the dogshit dev and sacrifice him!"
—"Open the game already, or I'm pulling out my 40-meter-long blade!"
The forum was filled with furious cries, screams of frustration, and overwhelming excitement as if being unable to play was killing them.
Xu Zhi didn't feel guilty about this minor mistake. Chuckling softly, he calmly turned the game servers back on.