After reopening the sandbox, Xu Zhi paid no attention to the players' complaints. If they complained too loudly, he'd simply shut down again.
Having just practiced magic outdoors—effectively like going for a nighttime jog—Xu Zhi was covered in sweat, so he went and took a shower. Wearing just blue shorts and showing off his toned physique, he casually walked back into his room.
He was eagerly anticipating what would happen with the Phoenix and the newly introduced species he had dropped into the large sandbox world. With one real-world day equating to roughly a century inside the sandbox, several hours in reality were barely a few decades in-game—not nearly enough time to see major changes yet. Feeling idle, he decided to casually check out the player forums again.
It was precisely because he'd happened to stumble upon that ridiculous forum post earlier that he'd narrowly avoided being poisoned. Clearly, keeping an eye on enemy intelligence was extremely important.
Currently, aside from complaints about the abrupt maintenance on the very first day of the second beta test, the forum was full of discussions about the failed attack on the "Giant Boss," and the tragic aftermath of the players' spectacular group wipe-out.
Xu Zhi watched with amusement from the shadows:
Little Brain Down the Mountain: "Tragic day-one assault on the Boss: Probably the biggest gaming joke of the year!"
Spring Loves Studying: "The veterans sure didn't disappoint us newbies. They promised us a big surprise and delivered: they all reverted back to spores and are now restarting from scratch with us newbies (laugh emoji)."
The forum was full of pitiful screams from players sharing how miserably they'd died, vividly describing the spasms, screams, and terror they'd endured.
One player posted a particularly vivid account, complete with tear-jerking detail:
"AAAAAHHH! I screamed so loud that my whole body went into convulsions, tears streaming down my face. My mom was terrified—she rushed into my room asking what happened. She thought I was studying so passionately that I'd burst into tears out of enlightenment.
What was I supposed to say? I was forced to pretend that I had suddenly grasped Darwin's theory of evolution, and was crying tears of academic joy!
Honestly, my mom's always been proud, boasting to our neighbors how brilliant her son was for making it into this phenomenal, academically celebrated game, beating out thousands of research students with my so-called scientific 'paper.' If I told her the truth, I'd die instantly!
And now, the worst part: The Boss is still alive! Calmly eating apples in his yard! He probably reheated his lunchbox, ate the Poison Chicken, and just shrugged off the poison. (Cries silently)"
The comments quickly filled with uncontrollable laughter and shared misery.
"Can't stop laughing! Sorry for your loss, but hahahaha!!"
"Me too! I literally wet my pants. Just put on adult diapers. Hardcore gaming sure takes commitment."
"My wife asked why I was crying—I could only say my love for this hardcore game is just too deep!"
The forum erupted into laughter and commiseration.
In another thread, players were busily analyzing screenshots of Xu Zhi's mysterious black notebook, "Genesis," speculating that they'd stumbled upon a hidden backstory about past civilization cycles, further stirring everyone's excitement.
Meanwhile, the biggest news was the game's very first announced achievement reward:
[Announcement: Congratulations to player 'Speed Racer of Mount Akina' for evolving the species 'Poison Chicken' with exceptional potential. Achievement reward granted!]
The announcement immediately caused an uproar in the forum.
"Bigshot! Share the reward with us!"
"The devs are insanely generous—quick, show us what you got!"
Chen Wenshan (Speed Racer of Mount Akina) was also stunned. Did I just win a reward? After going bald from intense effort, had he finally succeeded?
Next moment, feeling his suffering from being roasted alive was all worth it, he immediately logged into the game, turned on his livestream, and changed the title to:
"Livestreaming the Mysterious Achievement Reward!"
Instantly, countless players flooded in, skyrocketing his stream's popularity.
After logging into the game, three choices appeared on his screen as achievement rewards:
1. Permanently retain the Poison Chicken as a playable starting species. (After each death, choose between Spore and Poison Chicken.)
Chen Wenshan laughed ecstatically. "Finally, I can choose my starting species instead of being a pathetic single-cell spore each time!"
This reward was beyond amazing.
2. Permanent reserved slot in the game, exempt from elimination.
3. Reward: Experience a Second Life. (??? mysterious option)
Players went wild in discussion:
"Damn, option one is amazing! So you don't have to restart as a spore every time—your species becomes your permanent starting choice!"
"So future players will all have different initial races?"
"Dream on! Weaklings like us will forever be stuck as spores, while pros will have multiple cool species at their fingertips."
"Option two isn't bad either: permanent slot in a $600000-per-user game, practically a lifetime gift."
"But what the hell is option three?"
"No clue, sounds mysterious."
Chen Wenshan hesitated, carefully considering each option.
The first choice was obviously powerful—he could always begin the game as a Poison Chicken. Even though it limited his evolutionary potential a bit, he could still further evolve and strengthen this highly poisonous bird.
The second choice, tempting as it was, got quickly dismissed. With his skill, he was confident he'd never lose his spot in the game anyway.
The third choice—"Second Life"—was ambiguous, uncertain, and too risky.
After some deliberation, he decisively picked the first option.
The screen updated instantly, displaying two new options at login:
1. Begin Life as a Spore.2. Select Species: Poison Chicken.
Chen Wenshan selected "Poison Chicken." A detailed customization interface appeared, allowing him to choose between male or female, appearance, size, and so forth. His stream went absolutely wild.
"OMG! So you finally get to pick a race and even customize your character! The rest of us are stuck playing as boring spores!"
"This game is nuts—every initial species has to be evolved by the players themselves?!"
Ignoring his viewers' jealous remarks, Chen Wenshan happily customized a strikingly handsome rooster, then proudly entered the game.
However, the moment he spawned into the sandbox world and started leading his Poison Chicken species to evolve once more—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive tremors shook the earth as the giant passed by the edge of the sandbox again, casually strolling down the path.
The giant suddenly stopped, looked down, and said with surprise, "Oh, isn't this the tasty bird from last time? It was delicious. I'll take some home to make soup as a midnight snack."
A giant hand descended from the sky and grabbed most of Chen Wenshan's chickens in one fell swoop.
Chen Wenshan: "??????"
Stream viewers: "??????"
Chen Wenshan was speechless, overcome with bitter resentment.
He suddenly realized with a sinking feeling that he'd just become a regular dish on the Boss's dinner menu, grabbed up whenever the Boss felt hungry.
He regretted his decision immensely.
If only I'd known, I would have never made my species taste so good!
Not only had his poisonous bird failed to kill the Boss, it had now become the Boss's favorite snack. He realized choosing the first option had just completely ruined his entire future gaming career.