CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 93 EVOLUTIONARY SELECTION (SECOND UPDATE)

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Has it started?

The vast majority of people would surely be skeptical about such onion-like news content, but Ren Suo knew what had happened—the trial had begun.

Ren Suo had calculated that the Jedi Priest’s trial comprised three stages. Each stage hosted at least one hundred people, with only the first-place finisher advancing to the next. Based on this scale, if the third stage had one hundred people, the second would naturally need ten thousand, and the first stage would require one million people!

This meant that yesterday, one million people participated in the trial. Within an hour, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand of them were defeated and returned to reality!

Ren Suo also breathed a sigh of relief. The setting of "Jedi Priest" was real; the deities would indeed allow trial participants to return and even provide them with a one-time ’reinvention’ health transformation.

These one million people, almost entirely consisting of sub-healthy individuals, disabled persons, and chronic illness patients, were largely ’homebodies’ for various reasons. Thus, they might not have drawn attention when the trial occurred. Since the trial only lasted an hour, it was normal that many went unnoticed.

One million people scattered across a planet with a population of seven billion wasn’t a huge number. Although these people had encountered a mysterious event, the benefit they received wasn’t supernatural powers but improved health. Therefore, it had yet to cause public concern.

The governments must have intervened and most likely sealed off the news, starting an investigation into the origins of the "Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow," "Lord of Billion Brilliance," and "Eternal Burning Heart."

However, he’d just have to wait until "Ren Naiser" released a new video; then things would get interesting...

Ren Suo was quite looking forward to how the plot he had laid in the game would unfold. However, there was a day of rest between each trial stage. Since "Ren Naiser" would adhere to basic principles and not release videos about events that had not yet occurred, it would still be at least a two-day wait.

Ren Suo glanced over. Hmm, "Ren Naiser" hasn’t released a new video. It seems like he’s planning to release everything all at once. Maybe he’ll even edit it a bit?

Setting aside these thoughts, Ren Suo, feeling a bit heavy-hearted, opened "Devouring the Spirit of the World."

This game would likely become his time-killing weapon for the month.

True to its "3 stars+" rating, the difficulty of this game surpassed Ren Suo’s imagination.

The game had an instant save mode, without save and load capabilities, only allowing restarts. Ren Suo’s last save had crashed, so he had to start over.

The game started with a world map.

The entire world map was filled with various colors, broadly divided into three kinds: blue, yellow, and red.

Blue areas had the least Spiritual Energy resources and were mostly ocean regions, the Arctic, and the Antarctic.

Yellow areas had average Spiritual Energy resources, mostly comprising European towns and Australia.

Red areas had the most Spiritual Energy resources, predominantly in densely populated cities such as the Pacific Federation, Flourishing Sakura Country, Mysterious Country, and regions in South America.

The top-left corner marked the time: May X, 16:45.

Below the screen was a button: "Press ○ to start random selection."

Yes, in this game, if you started a new file, where you were born and what type of creature—terrestrial, aerial, or aquatic—you were, all depended on random selection.

If you didn’t want to randomize, you could spend Merit Points. One Merit Point could designate the birth region, two Merit Points could allow choosing the kingdom (plant or animal), and three Merit Points could determine the specific creature.

Ren Suo was still in the pioneering stages, so naturally, he went for random selection. The map began to zoom in, focusing on a dirt pit within a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Mysterious Country—

The view shifted. The screen plunged into darkness, with only a light source visible ahead. In the gloom, Ren Suo saw a creature.

Its form was elongated and covered in scales, with short, stout limbs and a long, flat tail. Its back was slightly arched. Ren Suo manipulated the controller, and the creature scuttled forward.

Shortly after, it burrowed its way outside, into the very dirt pit Ren Suo had just seen on the map. After emerging, and without receiving any commands, it curled up on the ground, its brown scales blending somewhat with the earth.

It was a pangolin.

"Press △ to open the Evolution Tree."

The exciting moment has arrived! Even though Ren Suo was starting a new file, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation at this scene.

Opening the Evolution Tree, Ren Suo saw a hologram of this pangolin and its scientific name: Mysterious Country Pangolin.

On the left side of the screen, a green Energy Slot appeared, displaying its current status and four data lines: 6 Damage, 10 Defense, 8 Move, 7 Recovery.

Innate Ability: Burrowing (Activate with R2. Takes 20 seconds to enter the ground. This ability’s effectiveness increases with Damage).

Current Status: Not Hungry (no effects).

The Energy Slot was now full, and below it were two options: "Evolve" and "Devolve."

"Devolve" was unavailable, as the character hadn’t achieved any evolution since the game started.

Ren Suo selected "Evolve." Three cards appeared on the screen, instantly catching his eye!

The three cards were: "Armor," "Tough Out," and "Tear"!

"Armor" was a Gray Stripes Red Card. Effect: Creates an armor barrier with 5 Defense for the living being, refreshing once a day.

"Tough Out" was a Blue Stripes Red Card. Effect: Creates an armor barrier with 15 Defense for the living being, refreshing once a day. However, after refreshing, it applies a wound buff—’causes moderate damage to the living being, decreases all its abilities by 30%, and requires it to remain completely still for 3 hours to recover.’

"Tear" was a Blue Stripes Red Card. Effect: Every time the living being is injured, after fully recovering, its comprehensive abilities are enhanced. Minor injuries increase comprehensive abilities by 1 point, moderate injuries by 2 points, and severe injuries by 3 points.

Without a doubt, I’ll choose "Tear"! Ren Suo decided.

If I were in the city, I might have considered "Tough Out"—because pangolins can’t beat humans. But in the wild, this is a great opportunity to level up! Using "Tear," it can grow in just a few days to a point where humans can’t capture it even with weapons!

Red patterns flashed across the pangolin, indicating it had acquired the "Tear" evolution.

From my pioneering experience, "Tear" is one of the best initial evolutions in the Evolution Tree! Ren Suo mused.

He controlled the pangolin for a few laps and finally spotted a spider on a tree, immediately sending the pangolin rushing towards it.

Speaking of which, this pangolin is the best start I’ve had in several attempts—it can climb trees, burrow, and swim, and its mouth is reasonably sharp. Much better than that meat pig I controlled in my first game; its living environment is far superior too.

Thinking of that meat pig, Ren Suo could only sigh at his misfortune. Randomly ending up as a pig was one thing, but it was a pig caged and awaiting slaughter! I, Ren Suo, was powerless to change its fate!

The spider looked quite large, but facing the pangolin, it seemed a bit bewildered. Big bro, I’m not on your menu,

it might have thought.

However, the pangolin neatly bit through the spiderweb, grabbed the spider with its small forelimbs, jumped to the ground, and crushed it, remaining unharmed itself.

Naturally, the pangolin couldn’t eat this spider unless Ren Suo selected the "Survival of the Fittest" evolution. Otherwise, for now, the pangolin could only feed on insects like termites and bees.

A wisp of blue energy floated from the dead spider and landed on the pangolin. Ren Suo saw the previously empty Energy Slot fill slightly.

Ren Suo played for three hours, during which three hours also passed in the game. He played from afternoon until night, hunting numerous spiders, bird eggs, and pheasants. He even found a lone monkey. To deal with the monkey, the pangolin sustained moderate damage in the brawl before it managed to bite through the monkey’s throat.

After all this, the pangolin’s Energy Slot was full, and Ren Suo once again chose "Evolve"!

This evolution also presented three cards: "Omnivorous," "Armed," and "Survival of the Fittest"!

"Omnivorous" was a Gray Stripes Red Card. Effect: Allows the living being to consume meat and plants, enhancing its comprehensive abilities by absorbing the Spiritual Energy within.

"Armed" was a Gray Stripes Red Card. Effect: Creates an armor barrier with 5 Defense for the living being and strengthens the effect of the next Evolution Card.

"Survival of the Fittest" was a Blue Stripes Red Card. Effect: Allows the living being to eat meat and plants and ignore their toxicity (though digestion time is extended), enhancing its comprehensive abilities by absorbing the Spiritual Energy within.

Without a doubt, Ren Suo chose "Survival of the Fittest." A creature like the pangolin, which initially only eats insects, must get either "Omnivorous" or "Survival of the Fittest" within its first three evolutions, he reasoned. Otherwise, it could easily starve to death.

On the screen, the pangolin’s teeth emitted a red glow, appearing even sharper.

It was dark, and the pangolin was injured. Ren Suo had it eat the monkey meat first. Its status then became:

Satiety (all abilities reduced by 10% until digestion ends)

Moderate Injury (all abilities reduced by 30% until recovery)

Ren Suo had the pangolin burrow and rest, choosing the ’Pass 12 hours’ option, fast-forwarding directly to morning.

As daylight dawned, the pangolin’s injuries had healed, its digestion had ended, and its comprehensive abilities all surpassed 10 points.

In the top-right corner of the screen, two lines of Combat Power were displayed.

The first line was the pangolin’s Combat Power: 27.

The second line was the World’s Strongest’s Combat Power: 43,650.

However, Ren Suo remembered that the World’s Strongest’s Combat Power was 43,250 just yesterday.

Overnight, the World’s Strongest’s Combat Power increased by 400—equivalent to 15 pangolins! And the game’s winning condition is to make the player-controlled character surpass the World’s Strongest!

In my previous playthroughs, the creatures I controlled evolved much slower than the World’s Strongest. Some didn’t even reach a level that could threaten humans and ended up being captured as rare animals for research...

"But surviving in the jungle is still too tough," Ren Suo muttered, feeling somewhat frustrated. "If this were another country, it would be better; at least there’d be bears or crocodiles to farm. In the Mysterious Country, there’s nothing significant to hunt. Whether eating meat or plants, growth stagnates after a certain point unless you find Heaven and Earth Treasures."

If I want to catch up quickly, the best way is still to enter human territory and find... objects filled with Spiritual Energy to devour!