Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 120 Simulation of Existence

You cling to the roots of a young oak tree, continuing your long underground life.

Time passes silently, like the soil; you cannot feel its flow, only the changing seasons through the varying concentrations of sap in the tree roots.

Another two hundred years have passed.

[Your body has grown to the thickness of a baby's arm, and its outer shell is a deep amber color with a subtle metallic sheen. You have gained the trait: Amber.]

On this day, the soil suddenly began to shake.

You can feel heavy footsteps coming from above, one after another, making the earth tremble.

What is your choice?

First, remain still and continue to feed on the tree roots.

Second, drill deeper, away from the vibrations.

Third, move in the direction of the vibration to investigate the situation.

Zhu Ge stared at the three options, her brows furrowed.

Vibration? And it was the sound of rhythmic footsteps.

He recalled the creatures that terrified the earthworms during the first simulation—the animal that could devour an entire oak tree in one bite.

Could this be that thing?

If that's the case, remaining still will likely result in being eaten along with the others.

Drilling deeper might avoid it, but the animal's digging ability is uncertain.

As for moving in the direction of the vibration—

That's practically suicide.

"Choose option two," Zhu Ge decided.

You start desperately digging deeper.

Your forelegs dig with all their might, piercing through the hard soil and over the cracks in the rocks.

The tremors grew increasingly violent; you could feel that enormous entity approaching.

Suddenly, all was silent.

You stopped moving, curled up deep inside, afraid to move.

A tearing sound came from above—the loud crash of oak tree roots being snapped.

[For three whole days and three nights, the tremors varied in distance and proximity.]

On the fourth day, the tremors finally stopped.

You carefully move upwards and find that the young oak tree is gone, leaving only a huge crater and broken stumps.

You have lost the roots you were clinging to; you must find a new source of food before you run out of strength.

What is your choice?

First, look for the root systems of other plants nearby.

Second, continue to delve deeper, searching for even deeper roots.

Third, try to grow upwards, breaking through the soil.

Zhu Ge took a deep breath.

Sure enough, that thing came and devoured the entire oak tree.

Now that he has lost his food source, he must make a choice.

Searching nearby might lead to a quick discovery, but it could also result in renewed danger.

Deeper still, there may be even deeper root systems, but deeper means darker, and there may be other unknown creatures.

Emerging from the ground—it has only been underground for about seven hundred years now, more than a hundred years longer than the first simulation, but the dangers on the surface still exist.

"Choose one." Zhu Ge decided to try the nearby one first.

You slowly move around the pit, searching for any remaining roots.

You found some tiny grass roots, but they contained too few nutrients to sustain your survival.

You continue searching, gradually moving away from your original location.

On the tenth day, you finally found a new root system—a lateral root of an old elm tree. Although not as lush as that of an oak, it was enough for you to survive.

You attach yourself to it, continue your underground life, and gain the trait: Resilience.

Another three hundred years have passed.

Your body has grown to the thickness of an adult's arm, your shell has become as hard as iron, and its color has turned dark brown.

You sense that you have reached maturity, and a surge of urge to break free from the earth wells within you.

This is the cicada's instinct. At this stage, you must leave the ground and molt to the surface to become an adult.

What is your choice?

First, follow your instincts and immediately break through the soil.

Second, suppress your instincts and continue living underground.

Third, find a safe exit and slowly ascend.

Zhu Ge fell into deep thought.

Now we face the choice of breaking ground.

Instinct is strong, but suppressing instinct may allow one to continue to survive, but could it lead to death due to the inability to shed skin?

Or can it continue to grow underground?

This requires thought.

Alternatively, option three, "find a safe exit and slowly ascend," might mean carefully observing the ground conditions and choosing the right moment.

Zhu Ge recalled the fate of her brothers and sisters who broke through the soil in the first simulation—they were all preyed upon by their natural enemies.

But that time it might have been during the day, or perhaps the location wasn't chosen appropriately.

If we can break ground at night or in a secluded place, there might be a chance.

"Choose three." Zhu Ge decided to proceed cautiously.

You suppress your instinct to immediately break through the ground and begin to slowly move diagonally upwards.

You moved very carefully, stopping every few steps to sense the vibrations and sounds of the soil.

It took you three whole years to move from a depth of more than ten meters underground to a place only one foot above the ground.

Here, you can clearly feel the changes in the ground—the alternation of day and night, the falling rain, and the movement of living things.

You are waiting for the right opportunity.

Finally, on a quiet night, you sensed no large-scale biological activity on the ground, only the faint chirping of insects.

What is your choice?

[First, it must break through the ground immediately.]

Second, continue to wait and observe more nights.

Third, retreat deeper and abandon this opportunity.

Zhu Ge thought for a moment and decided that since they had already waited for three years, they might as well observe for a few more days to ensure safety.

If it is so, then it is the best course of action.

"Choose two."

You continued to wait and observe for seven nights.

You notice that every night in the latter half, a small creature is active on the ground, making squeaking noises, seemingly searching for food.

[And an hour before dawn, these creatures will disappear, and the ground will fall into a brief silence.]

You decided to break ground in the hour before dawn.

Another night has come, and you sense that moment has arrived.

You started digging upwards and soon broke through the last layer of soil.

You peeked out and saw the starry sky.

This is the first time you've seen the sky; countless points of light adorn the deep night, and a cool night breeze caresses your antennae.

You quickly crawl out of the ground, find a branch of a nearby bush, and begin your final molt.

The shedding process is long and painful; you are unable to move and can only watch as the old shell cracks open and the new body slowly unfolds.

During this process, you must remain absolutely quiet and hidden.

What is your choice?

[One, remain in place to shed skin]

Second, climb to a higher branch.

Third, hide deep in the bushes.

"Choose option three: hide deep in the bushes."

With your last ounce of strength, you climbed into the densest foliage of the bushes.

You cling tightly to a thin twig and begin to shed your skin.

As time passed, a crack appeared on your back, and a soft, newborn body slowly emerged.

Just as half of your body had emerged, a rustling sound came from behind you.

You see a creature about the size of a mouse sniffing around outside a bush; it seems to have smelled something.

You've been preyed upon.