Chapter 1: Survival of the Fittest, Who Will Reign Supreme?
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Survival of the Fittest, Who Will Reign Supreme?
’Did I push myself too hard?’
Zhu Ge was puzzled.
’No, I haven’t been pushing myself to work overtime for performance bonuses lately.’
Zhu Ge checked again and again, finally concluding that this wasn’t a hallucination brought on by overwork or stress.
It wasn’t depression. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a hallucination.
He had transmigrated.
Zhu Ge glanced at the faint moonlight visible outside the window and let out a deep sigh.
It was just...
...why did something feel off? He frowned, lost in thought.
"Can’t sleep?"
His father’s voice reached his ears.
"The chirping of the insects is a bit loud. It’s getting on my nerves." Zhu Ge turned and saw his father’s silhouette in the darkness.
Darkness and moonlight wove together, making his father’s face as indistinct as a silhouette behind layers of curtains.
"With a ’god’ nearby, it’s normal you can’t sleep." His father shook his head. "Don’t wake your mother. Go back to sleep. Everything will be fine once the sun comes up."
’Fine once the sun comes up?’
"But, Dad... Never mind. It’s nothing."
Zhu Ge sat up cross-legged, his brow deeply furrowed.
’Logically, moonlight is just reflected sunlight. Why would a god be afraid of the sun but not the moon?’
’Is it a matter of dosage?’
’Or maybe the god is afraid of a specific type of radiation from the sun?’
"Do not speak recklessly of gods!" his father scolded in a low voice.
That very sound seemed to startle the other person in the darkness.
"Mmm... what are you two yelling about in the middle of the night...?" His mother’s voice sounded thick, as if she had just woken from a drunken stupor.
However, considering his mother had been worried all day because of the nearby ’god’ and had consequently caught a cold, Zhu Ge thought her voice sounded perfectly normal under the circumstances.
’So... why do I feel like something is wrong?’
Zhu Ge continued to frown, deep in thought.
’Could Father have had his spirit stolen?’
’Or Mother?’
’But according to the original owner’s memories, those whose spirits were stolen no longer had any conscious will.’
’After their spirits were stolen, they were reduced to a vegetative state, unable to speak.’
"Sleep, just go to sleep. It’ll be fine once you’re asleep," his mother mumbled. Then she said no more, and the sound of her light snores filled the air as she drifted off.
"Go to sleep," his father’s voice was also weary. "The three of us are sleeping in one room. As long as we don’t go outside at night, it’s very safe."
After speaking, his father also lay back down.
The three of them slept on wooden beds. His parents shared a large one, while he had a regular one.
Despite their movements, the wooden bed didn’t make a single CREAK, a testament to its fine quality.
Zhu Ge gave the bed beneath him a cursory glance, then frowned as he mulled over his father’s words.
’The three of us are sleeping in one room...’
’It’ll be fine once you’re asleep...’
’It’s very safe as long as we don’t go outside...’
’Is it really safe?’
Zhu Ge couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange.
According to the original owner’s very limited worldview, this world was far from safe.
The era they were in didn’t belong to any dynasty he knew from before his transmigration. Instead, this place was called the Da Sheng Dynasty.
Grand Generals could pluck the stars and moon from the sky, move mountains, and drain the seas.
Great Confucian Scholars held the laws of heaven in their mouths, their words becoming reality.
Great Immortals possessed divine insight, summoning wind and rain at will.
But none of that mattered.
Because the Holy Emperor was dead, the world was in chaos, without a leader, and its people suffered immensely.
Great Demons, great spirits, and great monsters feasted on blood and marrow, cooking infants and boiling the pregnant.
Great Gods, Big Ghosts, and Great Demons devoured souls and spirits, manipulating hearts and confusing minds.
In this chaotic age, myriad clans of aberrations—Demons, devils, spirits, Ghosts, monsters, and gods—roamed the land. The Human Race had long been in decline.
Even those great figures from the past were stretched to their limits just to protect a single city.
As for the majority of the Human Race?
Like the village Zhu Ge was in, most of the Human Race were scattered across the land like stars, confined between mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, marshes and wilds.
The casualties were countless; not even one in ten survived.
’There’s no one to shoulder the great responsibility!’
’I wonder if a great man will descend from the heavens in the future, someone to shout, "Long live the people!"’
Zhu Ge sighed inwardly.
The village where his family lived once had a scholar.
He was a man of letters who had earned a scholarly title thirty years before the Da Sheng Dynasty’s collapse. He possessed an aura of righteousness that was the ultimate counter to the likes of Ghost Gods.
Therefore, although their village wasn’t large, few aberrations dared to invade.
However, a few days ago, someone in the village died from a plague. The scholar, seeming to sense something unusual about the illness, had gone to the nearest city to seek help.
Before leaving, he left behind a personally inscribed character for "Scholarship" to protect the village.
But three days had passed, and the scholar had yet to return, leaving everyone in a state of panic.
Later, the scholar’s disciple even claimed to have sensed the aura of a ’god’.
He told everyone not to go outside after sunset, or they would face a great disaster.
’Is it fine as long as we don’t go out?’
Zhu Ge remained deeply worried.
According to the original owner’s dozen or so years of experience, as long as the scholar was around, there was nothing to worry about.
The village had always been a peaceful and harmonious place, like a paradise secluded from the world.
But Zhu Ge, who had absorbed the original owner’s memories, knew who was the source of all this peace.
’When the stabilizing pillar is gone, the ocean will naturally grow turbulent.’
’So, what exactly is the problem...’
The more Zhu Ge thought, the more he felt something was wrong.
It seemed that because he had merged with the original owner of the body, his soul power had likely grown much stronger after combining with this person who shared his name.
With his soul power strengthened, his perception had naturally sharpened as well.
This also made him constantly feel his Heart Spirit was restless, making him exceptionally agitated.
And the deeper he thought, the more he felt enveloped by a thick aura of death, terrifying and dreadful.
’What’s wrong?’
’What is wrong?’
’What exactly is wrong?’
’I have to find it!’
’Otherwise, this little thing that’s wrong might become the fuse that leads to death!’
’It’s a matter of life and death!’
’He just transmigrated; he didn’t want to fall into a life-or-death crisis!’
’What’s wrong? Think, think hard...’ Zhu Ge took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sank into contemplation.
However, at that very moment, a screen appeared before his eyes.
[Will to survive meets requirements. Survival of the Fittest Simulator initiated!]
[Natural selection, survival of the fittest. The superior win, the inferior are eliminated. Who will rise and who will fall?]
[The natural world is ever-changing. To survive, you must adapt to your environment, evolve, and grow stronger!]
[The Great Dao is currently undecided, and the Host’s own talents are not to be underestimated. Please make good use of this system and lead the Human Race to the pinnacle of the world!]
[After completing a simulation, you may choose to obtain one "Trait" from the simulated creature. After equipping the "Trait," the Host will gain that trait’s abilities.]
[The theme of this Survival Simulation is: Hatching]
[Simulations remaining for this session: 3]
[Would you like to begin this simulation?]
[Yes] or [No]
’A Survival of the Fittest simulator?’
’Does this mean I’ve suddenly awakened a system? My golden finger has arrived?’
Zhu Ge’s eyes flew open. He instantly understood the meaning and function of this survival simulation.
This simulator would allow him to gain a reward called a "Trait" after completing a simulation.
For example, he could simulate being a certain animal or plant, and then receive a reward after the simulation ended.
Perhaps he could use this reward to overcome the current crisis in the village.
"Yes!"
With a thought, the simulation began.
[You have become the egg of a Swordfish.]
[Along with millions of other eggs, you were born and fertilized in the sea, awaiting the moment to hatch.]
[Ten days have passed. You have developed eyes. Please make your choice—]
[1. Open your eyes and observe the world.]
[2. Keep your eyelids closed and conserve energy.]
’A choice?’
’I have to choose?’
Zhu Ge knew he only had three chances with this simulation. If a choice appeared, he absolutely had to choose correctly.
Otherwise, if he used up all three chances and ended up with a poor trait from the simulated creature, it would be difficult to survive the current crisis.
’Since the theme is ’Hatching,’ the main goal should be to accumulate energy. Only with enough energy can I break out of the shell.’
’I choose two. Keep my eyelids closed and conserve energy.’
Zhu Ge muttered inwardly.
[You kept your eyelids closed, preventing the energy consumption that would be caused by observing the world and thinking. You have obtained the trait: Patience.]
[Another ten days passed. Some of your kin were devoured by other sea creatures, some were swept away by raging waves, yet you survived. You grew a sharp bill and obtained the trait: Fencing.]
[Having grown a sharp bill, your choice is—]
[1. Pierce the egg membrane and hatch.]
[2. Absorb the yolk and wait to develop further.]
’Another choice?’
Zhu Ge fell into deep thought.
’What should I choose?’