Chapter 118: Patience and Foolishness
Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Patience and Foolishness
The earth cicada from the first simulation spent a full five hundred and eighty years just underground!
Zhu Ge didn’t even know if the earth cicada could have stayed underground even longer.
Not to mention the fearsome creatures that appeared later.
For example, that animal capable of devouring an entire oak tree in one bite sounded exactly like a Demon Beast.
’Time to... begin the second simulation!’
[You are the egg of an earth cicada, having just hatched in the soil. Your choice is:]
[1. Absorb nutrients from the nearby tree roots.]
[2. Find a more suitable location.]
Zhu Ge looked at the choices that appeared before him and, without hesitation, chose the first option again.
With the experience from last time, he already understood the logic of this simulation.
That is, to obtain nutrients and complete development as quickly as possible in the early larval stage!
This was the safest choice.
Searching for a new location might lead to better resources, but it also meant exposure and risk.
[You absorbed the sweet, juicy nutrients from the tree roots. Your body developed, and you became an ordinary earth cicada larva.]
[It began to rain. From within the soil, you sensed the thick moisture in the air. Your choice is:]
[1. Drink your fill.]
[2. Dig deeper into the earth.]
[3. Remain as you are.]
[4. Dig toward the surface.]
’Rain?!’
’Why is it raining again?’
Zhu Ge suspected that this rain wasn’t a natural occurrence.
This gave Zhu Ge a new line of thought.
Last time, he had chosen to dig deeper into the earth, successfully avoiding the risk of suffocation from the rain and even gaining the "Secret" trait.
’But is this choice really the optimal solution?’
He recalled his siblings from the previous simulation who chose to "drink on the spot"—most of them had suffocated to death.
But that was the situation in the first simulation. This was now the second.
Although it was still an earth cicada, the simulation’s direction could deviate slightly because of his choices.
"Digging deeper is certainly safe," Zhu Ge muttered to himself, "but..."
A question suddenly occurred to him!
’Was lying dormant underground for five hundred and eighty years really just because of the earth cicada’s natural life cycle?’
’Or was it precisely the choice to dig deeper that led to such a long subterranean life?’
’What if I choose to go up?’
’No, going up is certain death.’
’All the siblings who broke through the soil were eaten by predators.’
’What if I choose to remain as I am?’
Zhu Ge stared at the third option, lost in thought.
’Remaining as I am means staying put. The rain would indeed cause a lack of oxygen, but if the downpour isn’t heavy, or if the soil structure is loose enough, the oxygen supply might not be cut off completely.’
’Besides, staying put means not consuming stamina and not being exposed to unknown risks.’
"Option three."
Zhu Ge made his decision.
[You remain still, quietly feeling the rainwater seep into the soil.]
[The rain is not heavy. Fine droplets slowly permeate along the soil particles, creating a moist environment around your body.]
[You do not feel suffocated; the oxygen is still plentiful.]
[Some of your siblings dig down, some climb up, and some drink their fill.]
[You are safe and sound.]
[After the rain stops, you continue to absorb nutrients from the tree roots, and your body gradually grows stronger.]
[For this, you have gained the traits: Patience, Stupidity.]
’Patience?’
’Stupidity?’
Zhu Ge sighed in relief.
’A new choice really did bring a new reward!’
Moreover, this also proved that in the simulator, the same choice could lead to different results in each simulation.
There was a high probability that the simulator’s simulations were of certain real, existing creatures.
However, that had nothing to do with Zhu Ge right now.
He continued to wait for the simulator to progress.
[You quietly absorb nutrients in the darkness, day after day, year after year.]
[You cannot perceive the passage of time, only roughly judging the changing of seasons by the scarcity or abundance of nutrients in the roots.]
[In the one hundred and seventeenth year, a drought swept across the land.]
[The soil cracked, the tree roots withered, and your body began to atrophy.]
[Your choice is:]
[1. Continue to endure and wait for rain.]
[2. Search for a water source deeper down.]
[3. Break through the soil and find a new tree.]
’Here it comes!’
’A new development!’
’One hundred and seventeen years.’
Zhu Ge took a deep breath.
Although he was mentally prepared, seeing that number still made his heart palpitate.
Underground, there was no light, no sound, no change of any kind—just quietly waiting for a full one hundred and seventeen years.
’Perhaps... this is what it means to "exist"?’
’Just living, just existing, with no meaning, no purpose. An existence whose only meaning is existence itself.’
[You continue to survive underground.]
[In the two hundredth year, the roots around you suddenly become incomparably massive. You attach yourself to the root system of this giant tree, absorbing its nutrients, not understanding why.]
[One hundred years later, you discover that your own body is also growing larger. Your body, originally the size of a grain of rice, has now grown to the thickness of a thumb.]
[Your shell has become hard and has taken on a deep amber color—a change brought about by the changes in the tree roots.]
[In the five hundredth year, the giant tree begins to age.]
[You can feel the nutrients in the roots diminishing. This ancient tree, which has lived for over a thousand years, is reaching the end of its life.]
[Your choice is:]
[1. Remain attached and decay with the tree.]
[2. Sever your connection with this tree and search for a new root system.]
[3. Break through the soil and end this long subterranean life.]
Zhu Ge took a deep breath.
The earth cicada had actually changed because of the changes in the tree it was feeding on.
This was another unexpected development.
’Existence...’ Zhu Ge mulled over this simulation’s theme and matched it to the three choices.
’Option one: decay with the tree.’
’This means death, but perhaps I could obtain a trait related to "symbiosis" or "finality."’
’Option two: search for a new root system.’
’This means continuing my life underground. I might live longer, but I could also die along the way.’
’Based on past experience, moving around recklessly gets you killed faster.’
’Option three: break through the soil.’
’This means ending the darkness and greeting the light, but it also means facing unknown enemies above ground.’
After thinking it over and over, Zhu Ge still chose option two.
After all, in the previous simulation, the earth cicada existed for five hundred and eighty years before it broke through the soil.
’It’s only been five hundred years now. Maybe it’s not time yet.’
[You sever your connection with the old tree and begin to move slowly through the soil.]
[This is a long journey.]
[There is no light, no direction. You can only rely on your perception of moisture to push forward, bit by bit.]
[You pass through hard layers of earth, bypass rocky obstacles, and occasionally encounter other subterranean creatures—writhing earthworms, slumbering beetle larvae.]
[You do not disturb them, nor they you; you simply pass each other by.]
[In the tenth year, you finally sense a new root system.]
[It is a young oak tree with a well-developed root system, brimming with sap.]
[You attach to it and continue your subterranean life, gaining the trait: Migration.]