Chapter Thirty-Seven: Your Delivery Has Arrived (Part Two)

On this day, it was the twelfth anniversary of Li the Second Shuo’s ascension to the throne—a most auspicious date. Envoys from all nations gathered to offer their congratulations. Among them were not only prominent figures from the host nation, but also guests from distant, minor states. Some of these small countries resembled Greek city-states, and their people bore features more in line with those of the West: their faces more defined, their skin pale as milk, eyes deep and varied in color—not merely black, but predominantly blue, brown, and hazel. Fang Zhuowei even noticed a few whose pupils were a rare, delicate red.

As the sole superpower on the Black Earth Continent, Li had, after more than a decade of recuperation and peace, reached a staggering population of over five million—more than all the minor states combined, firmly establishing its unrivaled dominance. It was no exaggeration to say that even a casual stomp from Li would send shudders through the lesser nations.

Consequently, every minor state vied to outdo the others in their devotion for Shuo’s nationwide ceremony. Their leaders nearly always led the delegations themselves, and the gifts they presented were truly extravagant. Besides rare and curious foods produced in their own lands, they also brought with them carefully selected beauties, all of whom were carried, naked, into Shuo’s royal palace.

It must be said that, even by human standards, these women sent into the palace were of exceptional beauty—fair-skinned, long-legged, each possessing a unique exotic charm.

Shuo, for his part, accepted all these offerings without exception, adding them to his personal treasury, and when it came to beauties—there was no such thing as too many.

The grand celebratory banquet was set to commence three days later.

All the minor state leaders were permitted entry into the Central Li Palace to attend Shuo’s royal feast. As for the common folk outside the city, they too received a special ration of selected wheat.

The capital, Central Li, reached the height of its vibrancy, teeming with voices and life. The citizens praised Shuo’s wise governance, while visitors from afar marveled at the grandeur, the vastness, and the unparalleled might of the Li nation. The gigantic city walls, towering like mountains, drew awe-struck stares for long moments.

Yet Fang Zhuowei found little interest in Shuo’s birthday celebrations. Even before the vision of the past was complete, he glanced a few times and withdrew first.

The ancient ape civilization, roughly equivalent to Egypt’s ancient era, seemed formidable to those ancient apes, but to Fang Zhuowei, he could annihilate their entire civilization with a single swipe of his hand.

…

Stretching with a long yawn, Fang Zhuowei could not help but feel drowsy. Though he had slept all afternoon, he was still weary—his body craved more rest, as if it could never be enough.

After all, he was still a patient—worse, a cancer patient. Even though his health had improved somewhat during this period of civilization-building, he was still a far cry from being truly well.

If he had been healthy, he could have stayed up all night and revived with just a few hours’ sleep. But now, even after eight or nine hours of rest, he remained fatigued.

Of course, Fang Zhuowei was not particularly worried.

With the Origin of Evolution within him, self-healing from cancer was only a matter of time.

Learning from the previous night’s lesson, Fang Zhuowei was more careful this time. Before heading to bed, he checked that all the doors and windows were properly shut, and even set a few simple traps below them.

By the time he finished, it was already after one in the morning. Overwhelmed by sleepiness, Fang Zhuowei collapsed into bed once more.

…

The next day dawned bright and clear.

The rising sun, veiled in the heady haze of last night’s revelry, cast a dreamy intoxication over the broad fields and endless sky.

Fang Zhuowei woke early. After a simple breakfast, he planned to visit the back hill to check the progress of the spores he had merged with lizard cells. But before he could move, his phone rang sharply.

The caller ID showed it was the courier company.

When he answered, he was greeted by a thick accent unmistakably from Wucheng, speaking Mandarin.

The gist was that his package had arrived, and he was asked if he needed it delivered to his door.

Without a second thought, Fang Zhuowei agreed.

Shortly after hanging up, another call came in—this time from a private number.

“Hello? Who is this?” Fang Zhuowei frowned as he picked up.

“Mr. Fang, it’s me, from the town pet shop. The spotted mouse you ordered yesterday has arrived. Would you like to come pick it up, or should I deliver it to you?” A crisp, feminine voice came through the phone.

“Oh, the pet shop! Please deliver it, I happen to be busy and can’t come over,” Fang Zhuowei quickly replied, only just recalling the little creature he’d nearly forgotten amidst the recent chaos.

“Alright, just a moment. I’ll have it brought over right away,” Cao Tiantian replied cheerfully, deliberately pitching her voice higher to sound sweeter.

“Hey, what’s wrong with your voice—caught a cold?” As soon as she hung up, a robust-looking man strode into the pet shop, holding a steaming bag of soup dumplings.

“Oh, nothing, big brother. I just want every customer who walks in here to feel at home,” Cao Tiantian shot him a look.

“By the way, can you deliver the spotted mouse? The buyer can’t come pick it up,” she said, stroking a prized Persian cat in her arms.

“No problem. For a customer who paid this much, home delivery is only right.” The sturdy man nodded, lifting an exquisitely crafted iron cage from the side.

Inside the cage was a mouse about the size of a fist, its fur black and white in patches.

“Aren’t you eating breakfast?” Cao Tiantian called out as she watched her brother head straight out with the cage.

“Eat what? The customer is king! We’re making over three thousand on this spotted mouse. With this kind of profit, I’m raring to go!” He grinned, waved, and strode off towards his newly purchased electric tricycle, paying no mind to Cao Tiantian’s protest.

“At least leave the food for me!” Cao Tiantian muttered in frustration as he disappeared around the corner.

…

Back hill.

In front of the newly cleared plot.

Perhaps not enough time had passed, for the experimental plot infused with lizard cells showed no significant changes yet.

The spores had all hatched and even developed some reptilian traits, but the transformation was incomplete. Moreover, their numbers had not increased at all—there were still just one hundred.

“The road of evolution is indeed long and arduous…” Fang Zhuowei circled the plot a few times, pressing his lips together.

In the history of life on Earth, it took at least hundreds of thousands of years for single-celled organisms to evolve into reptiles like lizards.

Though the unique properties of these spores would surely shorten that process, if he wanted them to evolve into dragon-like creatures as seen in films, even for spore creatures, it would be a monumental challenge.

“Is there a way to subtly guide the evolutionary direction of these spores?” Fang Zhuowei rubbed his brow, pondering deeply.