novelslam Chapter 6 [The Gods in the Thunderstorm]
Chapter 6 [The Gods in the Thunderstorm]
In the morning light, the tempered glass reflects the sky.
The bottom layer of the dark lake is as deep as ink, the middle layer of the cave is rugged and rugged, and the upper layer of the forest has fertile black soil, where several fern seedlings have broken through the soil, like towering trees in the jungle.
Xu Ye stood quietly in front of the box, his palm pressed against the cold glass.
Through the perception of the primordial spores, he could sense that the microorganisms that had just been introduced into the box were slowly reviving.
This is a completely new beginning, a microcosm entirely under his control.
"This time, I won't repeat the same mistake." Xu closed his eyes, and countless primordial spores began to activate with his thoughts, shimmering with golden light in every corner of the box.
Golden glimmers lit up throughout the box, transforming into the earliest stars in a miniature universe.
"In the name of the Creator of this world, the fundamental laws are established—"
His will became an invisible mark, etched into the very foundation of the world of Anthill:
"The beings of this world should strive for survival through subtlety and overcome obstacles through wisdom. The skillful use of energy and the ingenuity of their own structure are the true path of evolution. Those who blindly pursue physical strength, violence, and unrestrained reproduction are on the wrong path and will inevitably be suppressed by the laws."
Once the law was established, the life force within the box paused slightly, forcibly reversing the evolutionary direction of the entire world.
Unlike the simple and crude "size restriction" of World One, this law points directly to the core of evolution, aiming to fundamentally guide life towards precision and intelligence.
He then took out two sealed glass bottles.
One bottle, shimmering with purple light, contains the immortal spores of the Moon Rot Clan; the other, sparkling with silver radiance, contains the dormant eggs of the Silver Wanderer Clan.
They are the remnants of the old world, and also the spark of the new world.
"Your civilization never truly blossomed, fading into obscurity in that humble pool. But your history, your character, should not be forgotten."
"In this new world, your legacy will become a legend sung by future generations. Go forth."
He gently unscrewed the bottle cap and sprinkled the moon-rot spores into the black soil of the upper shimmering forest.
The purplish-black light spots disappeared as soon as they touched the soil.
He poured the silver worm eggs into the tranquil waters of the bottom of the dark lake.
The silvery-white eggs fell like stars, slowly sinking into the endless darkness.
—The "Crowd of Magic" and the "Clan of Forges" of later generations quietly returned here.
Xu also activated the control system of the ecological box.
The indicator lights lit up in sequence, emitting a steady, low beep.
Temperature control, humidity control, lighting, and ventilation all began to operate precisely.
The flow rate of time is locked at ten thousand times.
"Anthhill, let's set off." He sat down in the wicker chair beside the trunk, ready to witness the first dawn of a new era.
However, the celestial phenomena suddenly changed.
The clear autumn sky was instantly swallowed up by thick, inky clouds.
The mountain wind howled, swirling up a sky full of withered leaves, while distant thunder rumbled and roared.
"Why did it have to rain at this time?" This was unexpected for Xu Ye.
With a deafening roar, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and struck the transformer on the mountaintop.
The thunder was deafening, and the lights in the yard flickered a few times before going out.
The power is out.
Xu Ye immediately rushed to the ecological box, and all the indicator lights on the control panel went dark.
The temperature control stopped, and the temperature inside the chamber began to drop rapidly.
The hygrometer readings are jumping around randomly, and the ventilation system is broken.
The simulated moon's light source went out, plunging the entire miniature world into darkness.
Anthill, which has just been launched, is about to be destroyed.
A small lightning strike in the real world is like a long winter and disaster lasting several years in this tiny world where time flows ten thousand times faster.
He must act immediately.
Xu took a deep breath to calm himself down.
First, they checked the power switch and found that the entire village's power lines were broken and couldn't be repaired in a short time.
There's no time for complaining.
He rushed back into the house and wrapped all the old blankets, quilts, and clothes he could find around the terrarium.
He then found the candles his mother had left behind and lit more than a dozen at the bottom of the box, hoping to use the heat to combat the cooling.
But this is far from enough.
The humidity inside the box is dropping rapidly, and the spores and insect eggs that were just put in may die at any time.
He thought of water, grabbed a spray bottle, filled it with water, and sprayed it carefully into the box again and again.
His arms became sore and numb from the repetitive movements, and the weakness and pain caused by the cancer became more severe. His vision blurred intermittently.
Xu leaned against the glass wall, panting, his hands trembling as he took out a syringe and a Spirit Frost Spore.
"Calm down... You can do it." Xu Ye adjusted his breathing, accurately extracted the spore solution, and pushed it into his body.
The pain slowly subsided, but his strength was almost completely exhausted.
The environment inside the box is still deteriorating.
As he watched the numbers on the thermometer steadily drop, his gaze became increasingly resolute.
No longer panicking, their movements became highly efficient, and Xu repeated the actions of spraying water, keeping warm, observing, and adjusting.
He displayed remarkable composure and resilience in such dire circumstances.
This unexpected thunderstorm and the out-of-control terrarium became a unique screening tool.
This allows for a special environmental selection process at the very beginning of the world, though it was not Xu Ye's original intention, and he was unaware of the gifts brought by this thunderstorm.
In the cold and chaos, only those life forms that can quickly adjust their energy metabolism or whose structure can adapt to drastic environmental changes can survive.
This perfectly aligns with the subtle and intelligent evolutionary principles he established, which involved a brutal selection process from the very beginning. Most of the spores and eggs were dormant during this process, potentially heading towards a more distant future.
The wind and rain outside raged for half the night.
When dawn broke, the power came back on, and the control system returned to normal operation. Xu was almost exhausted.
Out of that tiny bit of concern, she still forced herself to check the contents of the box.
Most of them showed very weak signs of life, but thankfully not all of them died.
They survived, but their lives weren't very comfortable...
In the deepest part of the dark lake, something unusual caught Xu Ye's attention.
It was a silver worm egg, and the life waves it emitted, amplified by the primordial spores, were much stronger and more intense than those of others.
On its eggshell, you can see some unfamiliar patterns that resemble the lettering of the Moon Rot Clan, which are quite beautiful.
Was it the low temperature last night, or the chaotic energy environment, that caused it to undergo a beneficial mutation?
"Interesting. Another variable? I won't intervene, but you have to give me a non-destructive outcome." Xu Ye stared at the peculiar insect egg, a thoughtful glint in his tired eyes. It seemed this thunderstorm had brought a new variable.
This special individual experienced the apocalypse on the very first day of the world's existence and even awakened prematurely...
Will he be the hero Anthill needs in the future, or... a demon king who will overturn everything?
Perhaps no one knows the answer either; everything needs time to prove.