chapter 3

The orcs have entered the era of city-states. The fighting and annexation between various races are becoming more intense. The cultural conflicts and blending of various races have continuously fueled the flames of civilization. The original first-generation beast king of Qiluo City was from the rat race. By the fourth generation, the Tigers replaced them. Since then, the positions have rotated through the dog clan, tauren, and currently, the twelfth generation beast king is Arista of the bear clan. Prototypes of several other city-states have begun to emerge as tribes transition to the city-state system, starting the process of fusion and annexation.

No matter which race is merged or annexed, the founder of that race loses spectator qualifications and is forced to log out of the game, eventually leaving only four players in the game. These remaining players belong to the wolf, tiger, lion, and human races. The first three groups have a significant advantage in terms of size, while the human race, despite being the weakest in number and strength, has survived by staying far from the orcs.

However, the orcs are developing rapidly, while the humans are still in their infancy, having just begun to develop culture and language, and are still at the stage of slash-and-burn agriculture. If this trend continues, the human race will be wiped out by the orcs before it can fully develop.

At this point, a notification came to all players: "The first packaging and testing is over, and the second packaging and testing will start in three days, so stay tuned."

The four players were all live broadcasting at that moment, each with tens of thousands of viewers. Upon seeing the system prompt, some viewers were disappointed, expecting to see an epic war, while others cheered, knowing they had a chance to enter the game soon.

When players exited to open the game forum, they saw the official announcement highlighted at the top:

[The 0.1 beta version of "Second Life" has officially ended.]

Thank you for your expectations and support for this game. Due to the imagination of each player, many creatures with growth potential have been created. The basic biological framework of the Western Fantasy World has been completed.

The 21 orc players and one human player will be awarded the title of "Ancestor." Various tribes will cast bronze statues and stone carvings for future generations to admire. These 22 players will automatically qualify for the second test package and will receive in-game titles that provide special bonuses. Please explore the specific effects on your own.

The forum exploded with reactions to this announcement:

"I can't believe it! The game is so free that players create races and humans themselves. Does this mean the world has nothing initially, and players must create everything?"

"Is this game so free? Can players directly become the ancestor of a race, then can we directly create a god?"

"Creating a race is already so strenuous, and you want to create a god? Do you even know what constitutes a god?"

"I envy those players who became the first ancestors; they are the living ancestors of the orcs!"

"This is exaggerated! There are infinite possibilities! What if we put things from reality in the game, like making gunpowder and building aircraft tanks to dominate the world?"

"I just want to know how many spots there are for the second test..."

During the heated discussions, Chen Luo started using the Hunyuan Pen to analyze the genes of the orc and human races.

"Bear human race, primary life form, has not yet evolved to the peak of its group. The gene value is low. It is recommended to wait for further growth. Currently, it can produce 0.01% of the gene of gods. Evaluation: ordinary."

Hearing that the genes of the remaining 21 races had the same evaluation, Chen Luo decided to hold off on fusing these genes for now, as the Hunyuan Pen indicated that their growth potential was higher. He paused the packaging and testing to avoid the imminent danger facing the human race, aiming to create a balanced world with multiple races checking each other. He planned to give humans some advantages to help them survive.

"Second Life" gained massive publicity from players, with photos and videos shared online, causing a sensation. Its 100% authenticity, nearly unlimited freedom, and highly autonomous NPCs became key selling points. Countless media outlets reported on it, drawing large numbers of players who eagerly awaited the second test. They could only watch videos released by the first test players on the forum.

Many players shared their test strategies and experiences, which were prominently featured on the game forum. One such review was from a player known as "starting a game," who provided an evaluation:

"Hello guys, I'm 'starting a game,' fortunate to be among the first to enter this game. I'm also a senior player and game evaluator. Here's a simple evaluation:

First, about the five senses—it's absolutely true, exactly like your senses in the real world. You experience the world and perception of other species. For example, as an ant, I felt everything an ant does, like lifting several times my body weight. It's a perfect replication of the real world.

There's also a terrifying pain reaction. After being eaten by a pangolin-like animal, I only dared to set the pain to 30%.

This game is incredibly hardcore. You start by creating a race, requiring some biological knowledge. If you die, you lose all progress and start over. You only have 3 lives.

The game offers high freedom, unlimited possibilities, and a 100% virtual touch, making it feel like a real world. It's incredibly fun!

Finally, I must curse the developers! I had evolved to the peak and was about to conquer the world when a long-unseen tsunami wiped out my entire species. It's infuriating!"

In this long and detailed review, the comments skyrocketed, reaching thousands within an hour.

**The leader of the Women's Union:** "Stop sending game guides and videos! Watching without playing is torture!"

**Alibaba discussion group:** "Wow haha, the Ant Emperor appeared. Feeling sorry for the Ant Emperor for a minute!"

**Everyone else are sand sculptures:** "Praying for a second test quota online!"

**Students from the University of Science and Technology of China:** "The game is hardcore, but I'm not learning evolution just to play!"

**Sleeping camp:** "Watching *The Origin of Species*! I've started studying evolutionary theory like a university biology professor. Waiting online to practice with an account, very anxious!"

Three days later, the eagerly awaited second test began, and Chen Luo uploaded an update log to the forum.

**The 0.2 version of the "Second Life" beta is officially launched. The update includes:**

1. **Opening 10,000 test quotas:** Each player has only one life and will be forced to log off after death.

2. **Issuing internal test quotas:** Log in to the game and create a species to determine qualification for the test. First come, first served, and the test closes when the quota is full.

3. **Achievement system:** Evolve special powerful species to be recorded in history books and receive special rewards.

4. **Orcs vs. Humans:** As the orcs' strength increases, they press the human race. Players can join a force or create their own ethnic groups to compete.

5. **New race protection time:** New races won't contact others until they can compete.

6. **Time ratio:** One real-world day equals 100 years in the Western fantasy world.

The forum exploded. Players were surprised that the test was more limited and each player only had one life, making them cherish their lives more. The game required biological knowledge to create species and enter the game, a highly unusual and challenging requirement.

Despite the difficulty, many players joined. Chen Luo was surprised to see over three million players online for the test. In less than an hour, the 10,000 test spots were filled, and millions of others were forced offline. The Hunyuan Pen judged these 10,000 new species as having potential to evolve in the Western fantasy world. Many were odd creatures like big eyeballs, slimes, and goblins.

Chen Luo created three new continents to avoid contact between the new species and the orcs and humans. Some players gave up their new races to join existing ones, like an orc ancestor player rejoining the orcs.

Han Fei, who won the "First Ancestor" title, created a slime but chose to join the human camp again. He created a young man's body and entered the game. He arrived at the Lycra Plain, a fertile land at the southern tip of the Yani continent, resembling a paradise with forests and wildlife.

Han Fei saw a tribe with thatched huts, primitive humans returning from hunting. The tribe's development hadn't changed since the first test. Han Fei felt pride seeing a stone statue of himself in Homo sapiens form.

An old man led the tribe in worshipping the statue, praying for protection against the orcs. The tribe was mostly old, weak, women, and children; the few young men were disabled. Suddenly, the ground shook, and an orc army appeared, led by werewolf cavalry. The tribe was defenseless against the one-sided slaughter that followed.