Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 261 Became a Mudfish

For his first simulation of a loach, he chose hibernation, migration, and dragon transformation, but he always felt that something was missing.

So the second simulation began.

This time, he chose to "compete with his own kind for food" and grew quickly. However, when the pond dried up, he was too big to burrow into the deep mud and was dried into a dried fish before the dry season was over.

Simulation ended. The trait "Gluttony" was acquired. Useless.

In the third simulation, he chose "finding a secluded corner to forage alone," carefully surviving the dry season, but was swallowed by a large fish during the migration.

Gaining the trait "Vigilance" is only slightly better than nothing.

In the fourth simulation, he was still a slippery eel.

He tried another approach, which was to "drill deeper during the dry season to find groundwater".

He succeeded, survived in the underground river, and migrated all the way to the Yangtze River.

But because it did not experience the torment of drought in the pond, it did not undergo the struggle and transformation, and was ultimately swallowed by a larger fish in the great river.

The trait you gain is [Burrow].

Four simulations, four failures.

"Where is the problem?" Zhu Ge asked with some doubt.

The first simulated loach survived to the end and gained [Dragon Transformation], but is that its only trait?

No, dragonification is just a normal trait.

Although powerful, it is far less capable of overturning conventional wisdom than the Kunpeng and the Spider.

Hibernation, patience, migration, transformation—every step was taken correctly, but in the end, it only transformed into a jiao (a type of dragon-like creature), not a true dragon.

"Because the choice was too conservative?" Zhu Ge gradually realized.

In the first simulation, he chose to drill into the deepest part of the silt to minimize energy consumption.

That's true, but it's just about "surviving," not "lying low and waiting for change."

The second and fourth times, he tried to change his strategy, but went to the other extreme.

Either you're too greedy, or you're too timid.

True dormancy may not be passively waiting for death, but rather accumulating strength in the darkness and waiting for the opportunity to transform.

Is this also the significance of the theme "Hibernation" in this simulation?

Just like in the last simulation, he did not grasp the meaning of the theme of "existence", so he did not acquire the unique trait.

This time, Zhu Ge wants to really think about it.

"Try again." He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking back into the simulator.

The theme of this strengths and weaknesses simulation is: Hibernation.

[Number of simulation attempts remaining: 1]

[Would you like to begin this simulation?]

"Yes."

You are a loach, born in a murky pond.

The pond was small, only a few dozen feet in circumference, with a thick layer of black mud at the bottom and withered leaves and algae floating on the surface. Dozens of your kind, large and small, burrowed in and out of the mud, vying for the limited food.

Your body is slender, only two inches long, and entirely grayish-brown, almost blending into the mud at the bottom of the pool. You have no sharp teeth, no hard shell, and no venom. Your only talent is burrowing into the mud.

Your choice is—

[First, they compete with their own kind for food, growing rapidly.]

Second, find a secluded corner in the pond and forage for food alone.

Third, dive into the deepest part of the silt to reduce activity and energy expenditure.

This time, Zhu Ge did not make a choice immediately.

He closed his eyes and recalled the lessons learned from the previous four simulations.

It's not a choice of one, not a choice of two, and not even a simple choice of three.

Choosing option three only allows one to survive, but without accumulating enough power, one can only transform into a jiao (蛟) instead of a dragon.

"Is there a fourth possibility?" He stared at the options, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

It's neither a transformation into a dragon nor a jiao (a type of dragon-like creature).

A loach is a loach, why must it be changed?

If you lie dormant for too long, and accumulate too much pressure and energy, you should choose to release it rather than change yourself.

Like an undercover agent.

After being undercover for a long time, one forgets even their original intentions, and their true nature becomes unrecognizable. Is that still the same person they used to be?

Perhaps it will become powerful after transforming into a dragon, or perhaps it will not be weak after transforming into a jiao (a type of dragon).

But that wasn't me anymore.

Zhu Ge stared at the three options, remaining silent for a long time.

In the first four simulations, he chose "drill into the deepest part of the mud", "go down the river and swim to the sea", and "follow the call and swim to the deep sea".

Each time, he reached the end of the simulation, at most transforming into a dragon, but he never gained the unique trait.

Because those choices are essentially all about "moving upwards".

From ponds to rivers, from rivers to the sea, from the sea to the side of deep-sea monsters.

From loach to jiao, from jiao to dragon.

Every step brings strength, every step is an "evolution".

But is this a period of dormancy?

Zhu Ge recalled her journey from Jianshan Village.

Instead of waiting for the rainy season in the pond, he took the initiative to kill the germ god, kill the fisherman, subdue the demon beast, and build the Six Paths Palace.

His dormancy was not inaction, but rather a period of accumulating strength in the darkness, waiting for the opportunity to strike decisively.

Like that loach, it doesn't do nothing deep in the mud, but waits for the right opportunity.

loach?

He looks just like him!

He opened his eyes and looked at the three options.

First, they compete with their own kind for food and grow quickly.

Second, it seeks out a secluded corner in the pond and forages for food alone.

Third, burrow into the deepest part of the silt to reduce activity and energy expenditure.

He chose three out of the first four simulations.

But this time, he didn't choose number three.

"Choose option two," Zhu Ge decided.

You flicked your tail and swam towards a secluded corner of the pond. It was a crevice in the rocks covered with aquatic plants, where light couldn't penetrate and predators couldn't find you.

You crawl into a crevice in the rocks, lying silently on the rubble. You're not waiting to die, you're waiting. Waiting for dawn, waiting for nightfall, waiting for food to drift by, waiting for your predators to leave.

Other loaches in the pond were snatched away by waterbirds while fighting for food.

You didn't move.

A frog leaps across a crevice in the rocks and snatches away a loach three times your size with its tongue; you don't move. A water snake swims past the crevice and devours several of your kind. You still don't move. You gain the trait: Stillness.

[After an unknown amount of time, the food in the pond dwindled. Other loaches began to tear at each other, cannibalizing their own kind. You peeked out from a crevice in the rocks and saw a loach twice your size devouring one half your size. What is your choice?]

First, retreat back to the crevice and continue waiting.

Second, rush out and ambush it while it's eating.

Third, circle around behind it and wait until it finishes eating and becomes sluggish before making your move.

Zhu Ge's lips curled up slightly.

"Choose three."

You silently swam out from the crevice in the rocks, skimming the black mud at the bottom of the pool, and circled behind the large loach. It was swallowing your kind, its tail slightly raised, its attention completely focused ahead.

You suddenly accelerate, bite its tail, and with a forceful jerk, pull it away from its food.

It struggled a few times, but because you bit close to its tail, it couldn't turn its head to attack you. You dragged it down into the deep mud. Gained the trait: Clever Steal.

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