CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 56: CRAZY LEEK

New Era Year 496.

Humans have eliminated the genetic aftermath, allowing for mad self-modification, leading to numerous Witches dying annually in laboratories due to bloodline alterations. Yet, a wave of modifying other animals has begun rising, experimenting with domesticating beasts like wolves, cats, birds, and bears, bending them to their will.

The "Genetic Domestication" project begins.

Over thousands of years, humans have domesticated wolves into dogs, embedding genes that endear them to people.

So, could they use genetic domestication on bears, cats, and birds?

And during domestication, they would also magically alter and enhance these beasts, enabling them to cultivate Qi.

Gradually, they began to call themselves: Elves mastering the universe’s natural life.

Mastering the taming of animals, transforming them, with animals as companions.

Those who don’t know might think they’re a tribe close to nature, and to the beasts and plants, but in reality, it’s the slave technology result of a higher genetic civilization empire over lower creatures!

...

At this moment.

In a small courtyard, Zhu Zhengwei calmly played with a cute mutated cat, holding a book titled "Natural Beast Taming Skill" in his hand.

"This is just absurd."

"Elves with a Shanghai Beach style? Tree of Life? Too cyberpunk!"

Even knowing it was a residence built from the Root Dream, Zhu Zhengwei was indeed stunned.

The artistic style is too beautiful to watch.

Outside, the entire city looked more backward and old-fashioned.

The population had recovered to seventy thousand.

Rickshaws, nightclubs, gambling houses, inns, and hat shops still existed, while photo studios and power plants had become relics of the past, turned into witchcraft artifact shops and biological equipment stores, along with metal casting houses.

After a brief cooperation, the factions continued to clash in armed conflict, a mixed bag, even more fierce than before.

Dial telephones still existed, but had been transformed into a Witchcraft Dao gadget, enabling communication without electricity, as civilization developed with a slightly distorted tech tree...

"Perhaps, indeed, when individuals can become firearms and cannons, fly through the sky and escape into the earth, lighting fires, they truly become an advanced, higher civilization. The so-called modern social civilization is just a bloated joke in their eyes."

Zhu Zhengwei was both surprised and calm.

"The results are enormous; to underestimate them based on these backward buildings and think they’re aborigines is seeking death... they’ve just spent all their civilization points on genetic modification."

Zhu Zhengwei watched and was intrigued, yet didn’t know what to say for a moment.

"However, recently, these Immortal Herbs rooted around the Tree of Life seem a bit off."

Zhu Zhengwei frowned.

He began looking toward the game forum. Honestly, his focus was on developing the world civilization recently, having not paid much attention to the mood of these leek miners responsible for uncovering the world.

Frankly, why did the second beta explode with popularity?

Zhu Zhengwei had checked it out.

A spy was right beside him.

It was because the novels of those two goofy roommates had exploded, since Shiguang the Emperor’s game "script" was too brilliant, everyone thought it was real.

Could it be unreal?

Because it’s real history.

"However, recently, these Immortal Herbs have been planted on the island, not going underground, unaware of the hardcore punk style below... really thinking they’re truly proper elves with odd dressing."

Zhu Zhengwei shook his head, looked at the forum.

And coincidentally, Zhu Zhengwei discovered they were up to something big, his expression turned odd,

"These leeks, so self-aware? Have they really understood my real intentions?"

...

A post was being heatedly discussed by many on the forum: "Second Beta Review, Helping Everyone Understand the Real Intentions of the Designers: Grass-Cutting Warriors"

Handsome Nanren: "Hello everyone, I believe you’ve all been in the second beta for some time. This picturesque game presents us with real history, a story of the pursuit of immortality."

"The focus after the second beta everyone has seen is the awakening Chapter of a certain island’s wasteland, narrated around ’immortality,’ where the mysterious human remnants from the Old Days, facing death, modified themselves into elves using old biological cytology combined with new-age witchcraft in search of immortality."

"Honestly, this part is so realistic, I felt like I’m witnessing history happening. Before, I always thought elves were ancient mythological creatures, living in forests, taming beasts, using bows and arrows, living in treehouses, but here, they’re practically a form of future humans!"

"A superior civilization structure beyond modern humans."

"Seeing this feels like reading a great post-apocalyptic sci-fi masterpiece. In my heart, I can’t help but wonder if there’s really an elf civilization; it might truly be like this, elves are plant-modified sub-humans with longevity, super recovery abilities, and so on, where the Tree of Life is actually a gene pool for test-tube babies."

"Everything appears to return to ancient times, but actually, everything is moving toward a terrifying future biological civilization that surpasses modernity!"

"This is simplicity to the grand road and a return to basics."

"Perhaps one day we humans will be like this too; in the future, it might look like we live in primitive towns, without power grids, power stations, televisions, or computers, but in reality, we might already be a cosmic high divine-level civilization. Why would we need circuits? Airplanes and cannons? The internet? A single thought can light a lamp, a single thought can be a humanoid machine gun, a single thought can connect consciousnesses... Humans of that time could have consciousness at an extremely high level and might start to revere nature."

"So, let me talk about the new updates in the second test. As for some of you saying, what’s there to analyze in a game where you just look at wallpapers of landscapes? All you do is lie down and watch? Just looking at history and beautiful scenery? That’s wrong; you don’t understand the true essence of this game!"

"Firstly, it’s the newly updated progression system."

"I believe everyone, when idle, has started cultivating. Currently, many are already at level 1, with a few individuals at level 2 Immortal Herb. Roughly estimated, this corresponds to the cultivation levels in Witchcraft."

At this point, everyone nodded.

They also noticed that cultivating while idle didn’t seem to have any real use.

After all, it’s just a landscape game.

In their eyes, it was similar to the account levels in social software — leveling for the sake of it, to distinguish high from low levels, but it wasn’t actually useful.

Handsome Nanren: "But do you really think it’s useless? Based on my personal analysis, it’s extremely useful! This is one of the game’s main future gameplay mechanics. Firstly, real experiments have shown that this is a kind of Meditation Skill that can relieve fatigue and refresh the brain."

"Based on my few days of experimenting, it really works! After cultivating as instructed, I felt much better the next day, my mind was clearer, and in the long run, it definitely benefits the body!"

Upon hearing this, many agreed.

"I feel the same way."

"I do feel more energetic."

"I got hooked because it helps with sleep. Indeed, it has excellent effects. What’s most commendable about this game is that it doesn’t neglect its primary function while telling a story."

This is to be expected.

This is the Witchcraft Dao for training the brain. When the brain is powerful, the spirit naturally becomes invigorated.

Otherwise, how could they train their brains, cultivate Witchcraft Dao here, and become high-level miners?

Handsome Nanren: "This is a game mainly for sleep aid and health preservation, completely substantiated! Watching scenery while training our breath, using techniques similar to yoga! I have to say, the health preservation in this game is novel to the extreme and very motivating."

"Secondly, do you think leveling is just about health preservation? No, it’s an upgrade in gameplay. As the level of Immortal Herb increases, you’ll be more respected by people in that world. Everyone can tell the difference between ten-year Spirit Grass and hundred-year Spirit Grass’s effects."

"The higher our cultivation levels, the more valuable natural treasures we become, that’s one part."

"The second part, I bet you haven’t noticed yet! Let me ask, do you remember when we collectively rapped at Shiguang’s deathbed?"

Everyone responded, of course, they remembered.

"Yes, when we at level one collectively rapped, they heard some sounds. What about at higher levels? What if our Spiritual Qi is more abundant?"

"Our collective chanting of Immortal Herb could very well be heard by the natives!"

As soon as he said this, the crowd was in an uproar.

This person is too sharp, able to deduce such traces?

Upon closer thought, it indeed makes sense, being logical and well-founded.

Because the natives did hear it at the time, what does it prove? That this game has an "interactive system," and they’re not completely separated from the natives as two worlds. The programmers must have written the "interactive" program module in advance to allow interaction with NPCs.

Handsome Nanren: "According to my guess, like in most plot-driven games, we choose the direction of the plot through options, and the button for the direction of the plot is, of course, our chanting!"

"According to real tests with my brothers, our chanting is a process of ’exhaling,’ similar to spending Inner Strength, and it takes time to recover afterward. But the higher our level, the more Qi we contain, and the longer we can communicate."

...

Everyone was immediately delighted.

If this is true, then this game is indeed unique but within expectations.

After all, a plot-driven movie-like game would become tedious if solely for watching the story, so usually, plot-driven games like ’Detroit: Become Human’ and ’Life is Strange’ have choices within the process.

"This is brilliant!"

"This game is indeed in beta testing, with features being added bit by bit!"

"Wait, does this mean after leveling up our Immortal Herb, we can temporarily chant collectively to influence the world’s plot direction? Like we sang to send Shiguang off, where everyone could hear it?"

"Yes! It’s simply ingenious! The chanting isn’t something you can just do randomly by yourself! It requires everyone together for them to hear, which tests our collective opinion. We discuss an ’option for the plot,’ vote to conclude, and then influence the world’s plot!"

"Wow!"

"Incredible!"

"So cool!"

"Voting together is brilliant, for instance, if an option in the plot affects a person’s life, and we need to discuss whether they live or die, when opinions are divided, this unified voting to select options perfectly resolves it."

"The planners were waiting for us here; it’s simply a divine setting for plot options. I’m all for praising the production team!"

...

Zhu Zhengwei seemed a bit stunned.

His mind was filled with many little question marks.