Shepherding Humanity

A leading foreign expert in evolutionary theory once said:

In nature, most animals freely display their reproductive organs in order to attract a mate. But with sentient species, the opposite is true, because the first emotion that sentient beings possess is shame, which will make them cover up their privates when in front of the members of the opposite sex.

It sounds absurd.

The first thing a species does when it gains sentience is to put on underwear because of shame?

Covering up the reproductive organs does not benefit the survival of the species in anyway. Rather, it hinders the reproductive impulse and is detrimental to a species' ability to create offspring.

According to evolutionary theory, a species that’s so reluctant to reproduce should be eliminated by natural selection….

But intelligence is unpredictable, and consequently, will give rise to many cases that do not conform to evolutionary theory, such as the human race.

It was precisely because he sensed this unpredictability that Xu Zhi had stopped accelerating the Tyranis’ evolution by 10,000 units. Sentient species could not be born under such conditions.

He hoped that if he waited patiently, sentient species would naturally be born; then, they would go on to develop civilization, bringing him pleasant surprises and showing him new possibilities.

"Shame is a sign of sentience. I’ve succeeded." Looking through his binoculars, Xu Zhi noticed that the Bugapes had started covering themselves up with small pieces of grass just big enough to hide their private parts.

He was delighted, and smiled. "Back then, those Bugapes could only cry "Baldy!” Baldy!" But now, they’ve finally started to develop language and civilization and are not so irritating anymore. Not bad at all."

But they were on the verge of extinction.

They were just too weak.

Even though Xu Zhi had chosen the best original template for them, it took him two days of experimentation before he could evolve them into Bugapes. During that time, life in the Sandbox had gone through twenty thousand years of evolution, and by the time they returned, they were already out of touch with the times.

Because of their ancient genes, they simply didn’t have enough tools to fight off attacks from feral beasts that had a twenty thousand years advantage over them.

If the great canyon that Xu Zhi had chosen for them was not so abundant in resources, they would have already gone extinct.

Xu Zhi lowered his binoculars. "Perhaps, due to my interference, this intelligent species had appeared far earlier than it should have. Originally, humans appeared much later, in a relatively safe environment where the largest animal was the ancestor of the lion and tiger. Therefore, mankind could survive long enough to start producing tools, and make stone weapons and torches…”

But right now in the sandbox, it was the equivalent of the violent Jurassic Era. Terrifying ten-meter-tall giant dinosaurs were everywhere, and the fight for survival was extremely harsh. The Bugapes would perish before they could display their intelligence.

After all, knowledge and civilization took time to develop.

Intelligence depended on knowledge, and knowledge took generations to accumulate. The Bugapes simply didn’t have enough time.

"I can’t let this continue. Extinction is definitely not an option."

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, and with a bemused expression, he returned to his room, logged into his laptop, turned on the wireless network, and went on Taobao to order what he needed. "Looks like it’ll be up to me to grant them the spark of civilization!"

Once Xu Zhi finished placing his order, he shut down the laptop.

"I chose expedited air delivery, but it should take a day and a half to arrive in the countryside. If you can't survive that long, then it just means that you’re not fit enough"

In the afternoon, Xu Zhi peacefully rode his bicycle around the countryside. He took in the fresh air, greeted the village folks, and had fun chatting with Chen Xi.

He had run across the girl by chance, and Chen Xi was just as talkative as he remembered. Listening to her chatter on and on was not a bad way to pass the time, though her ulterior motive couldn’t be more obvious. Throughout their conversation, she was gazing at him intently with the inquisitive eyes of a detective. She carefully studied his features, questioned whether he was a fake Xu Zhi… and even asked to visit him at home, which he refused.

Ha ha ha, what would he do if this girl stomps into his sandbox and wipes out a large number of species?

Cry like a little girl?

The next morning, Xu Zhi returned from his morning run, slightly sweaty.

When he got out of the bathroom, he looked at the table. The two packages he had ordered on Tabao have arrived right on time. In one package was a miniature potted plant: a juniper tree.

The other package had a custom-made item from a Tabao shop. It was an exquisite sword only a little larger than a toothpick, made from metal alloys and decorated with luxurious patterns.

At this moment, the Bugape clan had endured for a day and a half, which for them was a hundred and fifty years. But, they were becoming increasingly few in number, and were on their last legs. They were truly on the verge of extinction.

"It's time to take a look."

Xu Zhi stood up and headed to the courtyard: "Adjust the time flow back to a normal rate. No acceleration."

…….

The southern part of Mesopotamia where humans lived was a huge valley with large forests of fruit trees and edible plants. In front of the valley was the Tigris river that always teemed with fish. Thanks to the abundant natural resources of this place, the Bugapes had managed to survive until now, but their end was nigh.

Broken walls and corpses were everywhere.

Near a destroyed hut, the ground was covered with the Bugape corpses.

"Run! This place is not safe either. The Arrah are coming!"

At the center of this scene was a group of black-haired humanoids with armored joints who looked like armor-clad chimpanzees walking on two legs. Their enemies were gaunt, wily black beasts that resembled Velociraptors. The Bugape warriors bellowed in their primitive guttural language for the women and children behind them to retreat, and rushed into battle wielding clubs made from the giant horn of some nameless beast.

"We must survive!"

The fleeing women had dead expressions on their faces, their movements when running away were like soulless puppets following a customary routine.

The small group of Bugape warriors desperately fought. Copious amounts of blood flowed. Soon, they got chewed to pieces and turned into raptor food.

The smell of fear was thick in the air.

Xu Zhi looked at this scene and sighed, feeling somewhat sympathetic.

Next to him, the Hive Mind dispassionately commented: "The Tyranis are an extremely prolific species. Those creatures are little more than cannon fodder. Unless they can ascend.”

"Ascend? How does one ascend?" Xu Zhi asked.

The Hive Mind explained, "You stop being cannon fodder and ascend to the realm of heroes by awakening. Tyranis heroes do not passively evolve, they can freely adjust their genes and evolve the way they want… Among the billions of Tyranis that are born on a planet seeded with spores, there will always be a few that can ascend to become leaders and open their genetic locks. These individuals would become Tyranis heroes and lead their species into the Tyranis’ upper echelons."

Xu Zhi could understand this.

After all, the great Tyranis race could not be managed by the Hive Mother alone. A powerful upper class formed by Tyranis heroes was indispensable.

The Tyranis’ passive evolution depended on natural selection. For an example, during the Dark Age, hundreds of millions of plants died before the Bluemoon Grass could evolve the ability to absorb moonlight.

Passive evolution was simply too costly, built on the deaths of countless Tyranis.

Tyranis heroes, on the other hand, were able to control their genes, direct their own evolution, and regulate their gene sequence. It was a world of difference.

"Do you think that among the Bugapes I’ve created, a hero who could break his genetic locks would one day appear?" Xu Zhi laughed. "A Bugape Hero?"

"They have enough potential. It’s a possibility."

The Hive Mind thought for a moment, then added: "The species of this land have unique genes, with very distinctive characteristics. After they’ve assimilated the monkey genes, these Bugapes have evolved in an unusual manner, and now carry great potential. It's possible."

"It’s possible? I'm glad." As he conversed with the Hive Mind, Xu Zhi strode forward.

Boom boom!

The ground shook.

In the ancient primordial woods, countless beasts fled in terror. Great hordes stampeded outwards. Mountains were flattened, rivers stopped flowing. No matter how mighty they were, the creatures who failed to react in time got crushed by a giant foot descending from the sky, ending their life as pitiful chunks of flesh.

"Being crushed under my boots means that you were just unlucky. This is natural selection."

Xu Zhi took another step.

A large forest collapsed.

Amidst the trees, the Arrah – the terrifying beasts who were feeding on the corpses of the recently killed Bugapes – were also stomped to death before they could even make a sound.

Xu Zhi strode quickly to catch up to the fleeing Bugapes ahead.

"Oh my god!!! What is that thing?"

"How could there be a creature that large! It is 10,000 times larger than the great behemoth, Fenba! With one foot, it crushed the dreadful Arrah!"

"We can't even see the top! It's a colossal giant at least over a kilometer tall!"

The Bugapes turned their heads. The massive creature that towered over them seemed to pierce the sky, its face obscured by clouds, like a titan from ancient myths. They screamed, and prostrated on the ground.

Though Xu Zhi could understand their crude language thanks to the Mother Hive, he was indifferent to their plight.

He wondered, what did these ant-sized creatures feel when they looked at him?

They were so tiny, they couldn’t even be compared to a 1-centimeter part of his shoes. Xu Zhi could not imagine the shock and awe they must have felt as they craned their necks to look up at a colossal 10,000 feet tall titan whose head reached the clouds.

For them, he was no different than a God.

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