Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Tribe

“Haha, I can’t stop laughing.”
“This isn’t a surprise at all—it’s a shock!”
“Old Devil, don’t mess around. Get to the land first and check it out.”
Looking at the comments scrolling through his livestream, Li Shan exhaled deeply. “Alright, let’s see what content is available for this game’s release.”
He had already explored most of the demo’s underwater features; lingering there any longer would likely bore some viewers.
As a professional streamer, he always put his audience’s experience first—except for the fake fans, of course.
He clicked ‘revive.’
Relying on his experience and the genes he’d unlocked with genetic points, Li Shan quickly returned to Stage Nine.
This time, he wasted no words and headed straight for the distant continent.
After surviving several attacks and filling his progress bar nearly to the brim, he finally set foot on land.
A long string of evolution prompts appeared.
The screen shifted, ushering him into the creature creation interface.
“My genetic slots just jumped to thirty. Clearly, reaching land marks a major leap.”
Li Shan explained to his viewers, then began inspecting his newly unlocked organs.
A pair of arched legs presented themselves.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
Li Shan examined them, then removed the sharp limbs beneath the pyramid body that hindered walking, replacing them with two long legs.
Now his pyramid-shaped body had legs beneath it. It looked odd, but the intimidation factor was undeniable.
After attaching the legs and dismantling a few genes useless on land, he clicked confirm.
This time, the evolution animation changed: no longer emerging from an egg, a few pyramid creatures, now with long legs, timidly stepped onto a sandy shore and entered the forest.
Once the scene ended, his consciousness returned to his game avatar.
He moved experimentally, adapting to his new form, then observed his surroundings.
It was a broad, flat valley with sparse trees.
Not far off, several identical tribesmen were attempting to pluck blue fruit from the trees.
“This starting location feels pretty good.”
Seeing no immediate danger, Li Shan spoke to his viewers.
“Let’s see if any new features are unlocked.”
“The creature Old Devil evolved is really ugly.”
“Go pick some fruit from those trees. So bright and colorful—it must taste good.”
As he entered the new map, the chat grew lively again.
“There’s a new tribe function; let me check it out.”
Li Shan opened the newly appeared tribe interface with a thought.
[You have successfully landed on the continent]

[You possess considerable intelligence]
[Your tribe has learned to cooperate]
[The beginnings of civilization are emerging]
Tribe: Pyramid
Population: 48 (a species on the brink of extinction)
Main Quest: Expand the tribe
Quest Progress:
Population: 48/1000
Warriors: 0/10
Territory: 0/1000
Hunt an epic creature: 0/1
“At last, there’s a main quest. I thought the game was just about free exploration.”
Li Shan analyzed the displayed objectives. “The first few tasks aren’t hard.”
“The real challenge is the last one—slaying an epic creature.”
“You all saw that giant from the ocean earlier; it’s not something any player could take down.”
“I suspect there’ll be special genes or events later to help complete the quest.”
His viewers responded in the chat.
“Feels like a strategy game now. I thought it’d keep its original style.”
“Survival games lose their sense of crisis so quickly—feels odd.”
“The designer’s taking a narrow path, but since it’s made by one person, it’s understandable.”
“Do you have to raise the tribe? Can you go solo?”
“As long as it’s fun, who cares about the mechanics? Besides, it’s free, so it’s a win regardless.”
“Old Devil, one of your tribe members just collapsed up ahead.”
Li Shan was about to defend Spore Evolution, but upon seeing this comment, his attention snapped back to the game.
He looked forward.
Soon he spotted the tribe member mentioned in chat.
At that moment, the pyramidal creature identical to him lay on the ground convulsing, as if having a seizure.
Just as Li Shan was about to investigate, the creature suddenly kicked its legs out and lay still.
[A pyramid mistakenly ate poisonous fruit]
[Tribe population -1]
“Dead?”
Two prompts appeared before him, and Li Shan couldn’t quite process them.
[A pyramid mistakenly ate poisonous fruit]
[Tribe population -1]
...

In just a few breaths, his tribe’s numbers dropped from forty-eight to thirty-seven.
Li Shan was dumbfounded.
Are they completely brainless?
“If you don’t save them soon, Old Devil, you’ll be left all alone.”
“So much for saying it was easy, haha. Turns out, you don’t even need to do anything—they’ll wipe themselves out.”
“These must be AI-controlled. Total artificial stupidity.”
Ignoring the chat, Li Shan rushed to stop his tribe members from picking any more fruit.
[Prompt: Allow them to follow you?]
As he approached one, a prompt appeared.
Li Shan didn’t hesitate—he confirmed immediately.
At once, the pyramid creature about to eat the blue fruit paused, set it down, and followed behind him.
Li Shan breathed a sigh of relief.
He’d been wondering how to stop them; clearly, the designer had thought it through.
He quickly gathered all his tribe members to follow him.
Li Shan then led them out of the valley at speed.
He feared if they stayed any longer, he’d have to restart the game.
“Find a cave first; at least they won’t wander off.”
“Just keep them with you.”
“Old Devil, two of your underlings slipped away.”
Li Shan quickly turned around.
At the end of the line, he saw two pyramid creatures drawn by some melons by the roadside, breaking away from the follow state.
He realized the follow function wasn’t permanent—outside temptations could interrupt it.
Li Shan felt a headache coming on.
“What a ridiculous setup.”
He complained, then hurried over to retrieve his two wayward minions.
Once he’d reorganized his group, Li Shan dared not delay. He quickly led his tribe in search of a shelter.
He feared if he hesitated, they’d all vanish without a trace.
Leaving the valley, Li Shan soon found a promising spot.
It was a cave beneath a mountain peak.
He intended to make it his tribe’s temporary base, but as he led his followers inside, he discovered the cave already had an owner!