Chapter 117: Existence
Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Existence
[Survival of the Fittest Simulator Activated!]
[Theme of this simulation: Existence]
[Simulations remaining: 3]
[Begin this simulation?]
[Yes] or [No]
’It’s here!’
’The third simulation is here!’
Zhu Ge glanced at the Survival of the Fittest Simulator and confirmed his status.
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 0 years, ten months]
[Traits: None]
[Inventory: Kunpeng, Spider]
’Ten months of lifespan left.’
’I can’t use either the Kunpeng or the Spider.’
However, the Kunpeng and the Spider were both unique traits. They were incredibly useful, so it was normal for them to consume a lot of lifespan.
Zhu Ge wondered, ’Do all traits consume a large amount of lifespan?’
’Or is it just the unique ones?’
’If I don’t get a unique trait this time, but just a common one, will it only consume a tiny bit of lifespan?’
In any case, Zhu Ge had many thoughts.
And amidst his pondering, the simulation in his mind began.
[You are the egg of an earth cicada, having just hatched in the soil. Your choice is:]
[1. Absorb nutrients from the nearby tree root.]
[2. Find a more suitable location.]
’An earth cicada?!’
’This simulation’s subject is a rare one.’
But the simulation was full of unpredictability. Zhu Ge could only make his choice based on what he was given.
’I choose one!’
[You absorbed the sweet, juicy nutrients from the tree root. Your body developed, and you became an ordinary earth cicada larva.]
[It began to rain. You sensed the thick water vapor in the soil. Your choice is:]
[1. Drink your fill.]
[2. Burrow deeper into the earth.]
[3. Remain as you are.]
[4. Burrow toward the surface.]
’Rain?’
Zhu Ge frowned slightly.
’It’s obvious!’
’Oxygen!’
When it rained, many creatures in the soil like earthworms and snails would crawl out.
The reason was that heavy rain would saturate the soil, creating a sealed environment and making it impossible for the creatures within to breathe.
’But burrow deeper into the earth?’
’Wouldn’t that just be more suffocating?’
’Or is the rain not heavy enough to worry about?’
’But burrowing to the surface is definitely not an option. For a cicada larva, going to the surface means certain death.’
Zhu Ge pondered for a good while, only making a decision when the border of the simulator interface began to flash.
’If I don’t choose soon, it’ll make a random choice for me.’
’I choose two!’
[Your body wriggled as you burrowed deeper into the earth. You sensed that many of your brothers and sisters were drinking the water where they were.]
[You and your siblings were not thirsty, but opportunities to drink fresh water were rare.]
[You ignored them and continued to burrow downward.]
[The rain grew heavier.]
[You could feel it getting a little stuffy, but because you burrowed down ahead of time, there was enough oxygen deep in the earth for you to breathe.]
[More and more of your siblings died, all from suffocation.]
[Some broke through the soil to the surface, only to be preyed upon by your natural enemies.]
[Some tried to go deeper, but suffocated before they could.]
[Thus, you gained the trait: Secret.]
’I got a trait!’
Zhu Ge breathed a sigh of relief internally.
The simulator’s process actually made him very tense. A single mistake could cost him some powerful and useful traits.
However, as long as the simulated creature stayed alive, there was hope of obtaining more traits, giving him better options to choose from.
Fortunately, Zhu Ge’s current situation was not bad; the earth cicada had not died.
[You absorbed energy underground and survived for five hundred and eighty years. Your choice is:]
[1. Continue absorbing energy.]
[2. Metamorphose into a cocoon on the spot.]
[3. Climb out and metamorphose into a cocoon on a tree.]
’Five hundred and eighty years?!’
Zhu Ge’s Heart Spirit was shaken.
’This means the simulated creature isn’t an earth cicada as I know it, but more like a Demon Beast!’
’That’s five hundred and eighty years!’
’What a heart-stopping number!’
’Lying dormant underground for nearly six centuries... even a tree could grow to be a towering giant in just one hundred years!’
’How did the earth cicada pass these five hundred and eighty years?’
Zhu Ge was filled with curiosity.
’As for the choice?’
’Option one? Continue to lie dormant. This might mean living for another five hundred years, but it would also mean being trapped in darkness forever.’
’Option two?’
’Metamorphose on the spot. It’s safe, but the limited space deep underground would restrict the form it could take.’
’Option three? Climb out and metamorphose on a tree.’
’This was the choice closest to a natural cicada’s, but also the most dangerous—natural enemies on the surface.’
’Those creatures, never seen but instinctively feared, might be waiting for the earth cicada to emerge.’
But after careful consideration, Zhu Ge felt he should choose the third option.
This wasn’t just because he remembered this was how cicadas metamorphosed, but also because he connected it to the theme of this simulation—Existence!
[The time had finally come to break through the soil.]
[You began the long climb upward. Five hundred and eighty years of dormancy had made your body exceptionally tough. You clawed through the soil with your forelegs, inch by inch.]
[This climb alone took three months.]
[You felt the soil gradually soften and the water vapor grow heavier. Light seeped through the cracks in the earth, stinging the compound eyes that had never seen light.]
[Finally, you broke through the soil.]
[It was a strange new world. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sun, vines coiled like serpents, and giant ferns swayed in the mist. You had never seen any of this, but you were not afraid.]
[You instinctively climbed the ancient oak tree beside you, found a hidden leaf at the very top of the canopy, and settled upon it.]
[You began to form a cocoon.]
[The process of forming the cocoon would take seven days. During these seven days, you repeatedly sensed massive creatures passing under the tree—fanged, scaled, and winged beings, each one making your heart pound with fear.]
[Finally, a massive, bloody maw lunged at the tree you were on. The entire tree was swallowed, and you perished within it, gaining the trait: False Death.]
[You thought you were dead, but at dawn on the seventh day, the cocoon broke open from within a pile of feces.]
[You struggled out of the cocoon, your damp wings gradually unfurling in the morning light.]
[You saw your own enormous, deep-blue cicada wings, covered in a fine powder, refracting an eerie light in the sun.]
[You beat your wings and took flight, only to be immediately captured and eaten by a pterosaur, gaining the trait: Flamboyance.]
[This simulation has ended.]
[Traits acquired: Secret, False Death, Flamboyance.]
[Secret: Conceal all of your aura. You cannot be detected unless you use your power.]
[False Death: Become a corpse for five hundred and eighty years, then awaken.]
[Flamboyance: Increase your presence by eighty percent, making you impossible to ignore.]
’It’s over?’
Zhu Ge was a little stunned.
’This... this is the entire simulation?’
’So sloppy!’
Aside from a few choices, Zhu Ge had basically no control over the earth cicada’s actions.
Most of the time, he was just watching, unable to choose.
However, this time, just like with the previous Kunpeng and Spider traits, made Zhu Ge understand one thing.
The animals the simulator created were definitely not simple animals.
The first time, the Swordfish turned into the Sky-Dominating Swordfish. The second time, the mole came to dominate the Underworld.
And this third time was even more extraordinary!