reunion

Ethan had no intention of stepping on them.

The tiny player-creatures darting around his feet were too busy screaming about earthquakes and giants to realize he was lost in thought. What really occupied his mind was how best to exploit these enthusiastic volunteers—free laborers, unknowingly serving his ambitions. He needed them to evolve more species for his sandbox. Efficiently. Relentlessly.

When he passed through the gate, he spotted Mia waiting beside the electric scooter, already parked by the entrance.

She grinned, teasingly. "What's the point of farming all day? Wouldn't it be more fun to spend time with a pretty girl like me?"

"Farming helps with my mood," Ethan replied, absentminded. "And it keeps my cancer in check. Girls aren't nearly as interesting as soil, sun, and seeds."

"You're hopeless," Mia pouted, grabbing his arm. "Let's go. You promised to come to my high school reunion, remember?"

They rode out of the county town, heading toward a quieter part of Dongcheng. The streets weren't flashy, and there wasn't much in the way of luxury. A modest restaurant stood on the corner—the kind of place where first-year college students, short on money but long on enthusiasm, gathered for reunions.

They walked up to the second floor and opened the door to the private room.

The chatter stopped.

All eyes turned.

A room full of vibrant young men and women went silent as Ethan stepped in.

"Whoa… did we get the room number wrong?"

"Is he a celebrity or something? Look at that face!"

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.

Just then, Mia beamed, stepping out from behind him like she was unveiling a national treasure. "Tada~! This is my boyfriend, Ethan. Didn't I tell everyone in the group chat? He's super handsome!"

Please, Ethan sighed inwardly, how long are you planning to ride this ego high?

He allowed himself to be led to the table, sitting quietly as Mia's friends gathered around like sharks scenting blood in the water.

"He's really that good-looking. Where did you find him? Is he a model? An actor?"

One girl scrutinized his features like an expert appraiser. "With those bone structures and sharp angles, he's got a mixed-heritage look. Not unrealistically handsome, but... there's this magnetic quality. The more you look, the more attractive he becomes."

Their chatter crescendoed.

A tall girl in a black silk dress leaned in, brushing her fingers against his cheek, eyes sparkling. Another petite girl giggled and snuck a hand toward his abs.

Mia snapped.

She leapt in front of Ethan, fiercely clutching his arm like a dragon guarding its hoard. "Back off, you hyenas! He's mine! You can look and drool all you want—but if you touch, you die!"

"Tch! Stingy much?"

"Come on, it's not like he's gonna lose anything. I was just checking if he was a statue."

"And those abs! I just wanted a feel—scientific curiosity, you know?"

Ahem.

Ethan gave a quiet cough. He was starting to feel the full brunt of a generational divide.

Despite the attention, he remained calm. He knew why Mia had brought him—to show off. So he stayed seated, composed, letting her bask in the spotlight.

He hadn't even deliberately modified his appearance. This was simply the byproduct of countless genetic optimizations. With useless traits pruned away, his body had evolved closer to perfection—balanced, efficient, and, apparently, aesthetically pleasing.

"Yes, yes, he's my boyfriend!" Mia grinned at her admiring friends, clearly in her element. As they ate and chatted, she spun story after story about how Ethan was the best—how he'd always taken care of her, how they'd grown up together, how she couldn't imagine life without him.

Ethan didn't correct her. That was why he'd come along in the first place.

"He's an alum from our high school, right? And he went to a top university too? No wonder you never looked at any of the guys in our class. You already had your childhood sweetheart waiting in the wings."

Mia had always been a lively, mischievous girl. She'd had no shortage of admirers. A few of the more jealous boys came over under the guise of offering toasts, hoping to knock Ethan down a peg with some heavy drinking.

He smiled and drank with them all, accepting every toast without complaint.

He wasn't worried.

He'd dealt with far worse over the course of his life—manipulators, rivals, corporate predators. These were just college kids, still innocent in their own way. Their aim was simple: get him drunk and embarrassed.

But with his current body, it was a laughable effort.

---

After dinner, the group moved to karaoke.

As the evening wore on, the novelty of Ethan's presence faded. The boys he'd out-drunk lay slumped in the corner, faces red and speech slurred. None dared challenge him again.

The girls sang cheerfully. Some boys chatted, others played with their phones. A few huddled together to watch a livestream.

Ethan sat quietly on the couch, scrolling through his own phone, waiting for Mia to tire of the festivities so he could take her home.

Then he glanced at the screen of a boy next to him—and paused.

The stream showed gameplay footage from Spore Evolution.

"Dude, it's amazing! Same starting conditions, but every run creates a totally different species."

The boy was raving, eyes locked on the screen. "They must be using some kind of advanced AI—like the AlphaGo stuff. It's doing real-time calculations with infinite outcomes!"

Another chimed in. "The streamer's a total noob though. Just wait till I get in. I'm gonna evolve something epic!"

"You? It probably won't even go public. It's not sustainable—too realistic. Each player gets a completely unique evolutionary path. You'd need entire supercomputers just to run this one game."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

They were wrong, of course. It wasn't hardware holding back public access. It wasn't a computer game at all.

He simply didn't need that many players.

"It's wasted on them," one student muttered. "They don't get the mechanics. Let some real biologists or evolution experts have a go. We'd show them how it's done."

Ethan blinked.

And then… smiled.

Why hadn't he thought of that?

Real evolutionary theorists. Biotech students. People with an actual understanding of natural systems and biological theory. Letting them into the sandbox might accelerate progress toward a real magical ecosystem.

Yes… this reunion had turned out to be more productive than expected.