Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 260 Dragon Transformation

After an unknown amount of time, the water in the pond began to recede. The sun blazed overhead, and it hadn't rained for several days.

The water level is dropping inch by inch, and the silt is beginning to crack. Your body is being squeezed by the cracked mud, and fine cracks are appearing on your scales. Your choice is—

[First, continue to lie low and wait for the rainy season.]

Second, they emerge from the mud to search for a new water source.

Third, drill deeper to search for groundwater.

"Choose one." Zhu Ge said without hesitation.

The rainy season will always come.

If we go out now, we'll only be discovered by predators. If we go deeper, we might not find water and could even exhaust ourselves.

You continue to lie low.

The pond finally dried up, revealing its cracked bottom. Your body, encased in dried mud, resembled a fossil.

You have lost consciousness and entered a state of suspended animation. Your heartbeat has almost stopped, and your metabolism is nearly zero. Gained Trait:

Dry hibernation.

[After an unknown amount of time, the sky finally became overcast. A torrential downpour began, and the dried-up pond filled with water again.]

Rainwater soaked the mud, waking you from your apparent death. You wriggled, breaking free of the mud, and swam back into the water. In the pond, all your kind had perished; you were the only survivor. Gain the trait: Struggle.

The pond has been revitalized.

Aquatic plants grow, plankton multiply, and even a few small fish are washed down from upstream by rainwater and become your neighbors.

Instead of rushing to find food, you burrowed back into the mud to continue your hibernation. You knew that after the rainy season came the dry season, and after the dry season came the rainy season again. Only by surviving each dry season could you live.

As time passed, you grew from two inches to five inches, and then from five inches to a foot. Your body became robust, your scales thickened, and two long, thin whiskers grew from the corners of your mouth.

You're no longer just burrowing in the mud; you've begun to swim through it, as agile as a snake. Acquired Trait: Metamorphosis.

Another dry season has arrived, and the pond has dried up once more. This time, instead of feigning death in the mud, you use your beard to sense the moisture underground and burrow towards the water source.

You burrowed through layers of hard, dry soil, passed through crevices in the rocks, and finally found an underground river. You fell into the river and drifted with the current to an unknown destination. Gained the trait: Migration.

[The underground river leads to a large river. You drift out of the underground river's outlet and fall into the wide river. The water is swift and deep, and contains fish, turtles, and snakes many times your size.]

You didn't panic. Instead, you quickly sank into the riverbed's silt and continued to lie dormant. You knew that no matter how the environment changed, lying dormant was the way to survive.

In the great river, you saw all sorts of creatures. Some were fierce, some gentle, some as large as mountains, some as small as dust.

You neither compete with them nor make enemies of them; you simply lie dormant in the mud and sand, waiting for food to drift by and for danger to pass.

[Your size grew from one foot to three feet, then from three feet to five feet. Your beard became longer, allowing you to sense prey and predators at greater distances.]

Finally, one day, you emerged from the mud and sand, gazing upon the mighty, ever-flowing river before you.

You know you're no longer the weak, slippery eel you once were. You can continue to lie low, or you can choose to swim out into a wider world. Your choice is—

First, continue to lie low, and spend the rest of your life peacefully in this great river.

Second, swim downstream towards the sea.

Third, follow the river upstream to find its source.

Zhu Ge looked at the three options and sighed inwardly.

Having lie dormant for so long, the loach has accumulated enough strength and wisdom.

Continuing to lie low might allow one to live out the rest of their life in peace, but that's a mediocre choice.

Swimming to the sea or searching for the source is the true meaning of "breaking free from the cocoon".

"Choose option two," Zhu Ge decided.

The sea is bigger, and there are more opportunities.

You swam downstream along the great river. You passed through canyons, crossed plains, and evaded countless predators.

You swam for months and finally saw the sea. The seawater was salty, the waves were surging, and it stretched as far as the eye could see.

You sank into the sea, burrowed into the seabed mud and sand, and continued your hibernation.

The world at sea is far more vast and far more dangerous than that of a great river.

You've seen whales as big as mountains swim overhead, giant turtles as big as islands bask in the sun on the rocks, and groups of sharks hunt in the shallows.

You don't fight them; you simply lie dormant in the mud and sand.

As time passed, your size grew from five feet to ten feet, and then from ten feet to thirty feet. Your beard became like two long whips, which you could whip out to stun your prey.

Your scales have become like armor, able to withstand most attacks. You are no longer a helpless loach; you have become the overlord of this sea. Gain the trait: Devour.

Many years later, you sensed a call from the deep sea.

That wasn't a sound, nor a smell, but a throbbing sensation deep within your blood. You know it's something from the deep sea calling to you. Your choice is—

[One, ignore the summons and remain in the shallows.]

Second, follow the call and swim into the deep sea.

[Third, enter a deeper state of dormancy, awaiting the disappearance of the summons.]

Zhu Ge pondered for a moment. The summons could be an opportunity, or it could be a trap.

But after lying dormant for so long, the loach has gained the confidence to face the unknown.

"Choose two."

You swim into the deep sea. The water grows deeper, the light dimmer, and the water pressure increases. Your body is squeezed by the pressure, your scales creak and groan, but you grit your teeth and continue descending.

[After an unknown amount of time underwater, you finally see the source of the summons—an ancient behemoth slumbering on the seabed, its body as large as a mountain, its aura as deep as the abyss. It is summoning all the powerful creatures of this sea to gather around it.]

You approach the behemoth, bow your head in submission. The behemoth opens its eyes, glances at you, then closes them again and falls back asleep.

[You feel an immense power surge into your body; your scales grow thicker, your whiskers longer, and your size increases from three zhang to five zhang. Gain the trait: Dragon Transformation.]

[You lay dormant beside the giant beast for hundreds of years, absorbing its dissipated power, and transformed into a dragon.]

【本次模拟结束。】

[Gained Traits: Mud Lurker, Drought Hibernation, Struggle, Metamorphosis, Migration, Devouring, Dragon Transformation.]

Please select one trait, or proceed to the next simulation. If you proceed to the next simulation, this trait will be retained for the next simulation.

Zhu Ge opened her eyes, let out a long breath, and felt a little confused.

Surprisingly—the unique trait didn't appear again?

Moreover, he felt that there were some problems with this choice.

"Proceed to the next simulation!"