Chapter Thirty-Six: So That's How It Is

After several more attempts at evolution yielded no results, Li Shan, wearing a troubled expression, turned to his viewers and said, “Guys, this is a disaster. I suspect the designer did the data with his feet.”

“I’ve played so many games and never seen anything this outrageous.”

With that, Li Shan decided to stop trying to evolve. The odds were just too bad; even though he had money, he didn’t want to be a sucker.

But just as he was about to move on and look for plant devouring, a comment flashed across the screen and caught his attention.

“This [Evolution] is more complex than it seems. After dozens of attempts, I finally figured it out. When you encounter danger or difficulty, the success rate of evolution gets infinitely close to one. But if you just brute-force it with gene points, then it’s really all luck.”

“So that’s how it works!” Li Shan finished reading the comment and realized he had somewhat misjudged the game’s designer.

Now understanding the designer’s intention, he quickly explained to his audience, “Guys, I was wrong. The stats aren’t messed up because the designer made a mistake—they’re meant to convey something deeper.”

“What deeper meaning could there be?”

“I think it’s just to make the game harder, so it lasts longer.”

“I disagree. As someone who loves games, I think Old Devil is right. This game isn’t as simple as it looks.”

“How complicated can a game get? I think it’s just a lack of skill on the designer’s part.”

As the comments section started to heat up, Li Shan hurriedly intervened, “Don’t argue yet—hear me out before deciding if I’m right.”

He paused, waited for the comments to settle, then continued, “Do you remember what kind of game this is?”

“Deep Sea Terror.”

“…”

Li Shan’s lips twitched as he watched the comment scroll past. Taking a deep breath, he paraphrased the comment in his own words, “Yes! You’re absolutely right. The theme of this game is biological evolution!”

“The designer wants us to understand that throughout the river of time, only when faced with crisis do organisms accelerate their evolution and develop variability.”

“But without imminent danger, variability in evolution approaches zero.”

“Just like when I tried to pay for evolution—the success rate is as low as a genetic mutation, abysmally low.”

“So I believe the purpose of this game’s designer is to let players experience the essence of biological evolution as they play.”

As Li Shan finished, the comments exploded.

“Awesome!”

“Damn!”

“Incredible!”

“Old Devil’s nickname as the Game Sage is well-deserved—his understanding is amazing! Without his explanation, I never would have guessed the designer’s true intention.”

“Such a conscientious designer—I’m a fan now.”

“Whew, if it weren’t for Old Devil, I would have wrongly blamed a good designer.”

Li Shan nodded with satisfaction as he read the comments. Excellence like this should be known to more people.

“Alright, let’s continue the game,” he said, pulling everyone’s attention back. “Now, let’s keep spending money.”

“Of course, this isn’t just for drawing genes—I simply want to support this designer.”

“In this era, someone so stubborn, making a free game for a dream—I’ve never seen that before. I can’t let him get discouraged. Let’s make his first day a best-seller.”

With that, Li Shan immediately deposited a million.

It was about what a big streamer like him would make in a day.

It was also fulfilling his promise to reward Yin Jian if he failed on the first life.

Seeing Li Shan deposit a million, the comments filled instantly with praise.

Without further ado, he started drawing genes.

Ten million gene points, brute-forced.

[You evolved a fluorescent skin (rare)]
[You evolved fish fins (common)]
[You evolved gliding wings (very rare)]
[You evolved electric pouch (very rare)]
...

Li Shan tapped away furiously, not even looking at what genes he got.

He only stopped when a notification appeared.

[Notice: All current progress evolution genes unlocked, cannot evolve further]

“All unlocked already?”

Li Shan opened the [Gene Library].

He saw that a strand of DNA was fully lit.

[Notice: You have fully unlocked a strand of genes]
[Third branch unlocked on day three]
[You can now start as a plant]

Surprised, Li Shan stared at the prompt.

“The third branch is actually plant?”

He had thought it would be omnivore, but now realized he’d been completely wrong.

Then again, it made sense—if evolution is the theme, how could plants be left out?

Though he felt a strong urge to try playing as a plant right away, he resisted.

After all, he’d evolved so many genes as a herbivore—it would be a shame not to try them.

Thinking this, he clicked [Mate] to swap for a more practical gene, planning to devour food and expand gene slots afterward.

Entering the creation space, Li Shan pondered and replaced his eyes with vibration-sensitive antennae.

The polarized eyes weren’t just impractical, they often startled him.

A few times, he’d seen bubbles, but the eyes had made them look like huge monsters, scaring him half to death.

Modification complete.

A creature with a single tuft of hair sprouting from its head emerged.

“Old Devil’s aesthetics are certainly unique.”

“Even cuter than before.”

“Wait, no eyes—how will Old Devil find food?”

Seeing the comments, Li Shan explained, “The antenna on my head senses vibrations from surrounding objects, forming a simple image in my mind.”

“This image has no color, but it’s far clearer than what eyes see—it’s not affected by color and avoids visual deception.”

After explaining, Li Shan began searching for food.

Starting from green particles to algae, he advanced to stage eight at a pace much faster than the carnivore path.

He encountered the Ice Age.

Temperatures began to drop.

Seeing this, Li Shan immediately called his mate.

He equipped the cold-resistant gene he’d evolved earlier.

After equipping it, his health still declined, but not as sharply.

With abundant underwater vegetation, food wasn’t scarce.

Thus, Li Shan smoothly survived the eighth stage disaster and reached stage nine.

Leaving the depths to see the world.

This time, Li Shan equipped several powerful genes he’d obtained earlier.

As he swam toward the surface, he told his viewers, “Once I reach the surface, the real game begins.”

“I saw someone mention that you’ll encounter flying creatures attacking after surfacing.”

“Watch how I handle it.”