Chapter 23: Is "Spore Evolution" a Worthless Game?

Sword Rise Sect Leader: You’re amazing! Take Sword Rise with you!

Seeing Yin Jian mention Stone, Sword Rise immediately joined the hype.

Group members chimed in one after another.

Witnessing this scene, Yin Jian’s lips twitched; he felt the group had veered far from its original purpose.

But that was a matter for the operators to worry about, not him.

After he rallied the group against the hype, he saw Stone’s avatar start to shake.

(Notification: ‘Stone’ has added you back to the whitelist.)

Upon seeing this, Yin Jian abandoned the group chat, opened a private message to Stone, and sent his game’s name.

Stone: ‘Wait a moment, let me check out the game first.’

In the Qiyou Tower

Yu Jia, upon receiving the game’s name from Yin Jian, immediately searched for it in the operator’s backend.

In just a few seconds, the freshly uploaded “Spore Evolution” appeared before her.

“This time the cover actually looks halfway decent,” Yu Jia nodded as she looked at the cover Yin Jian had made for twenty yuan.

Then she clicked into the game’s page and read the description.

[From a single cell, through relentless effort, evolve to become the most outstanding species, enter the top of the food chain, and survive in all manner of harsh environments.]

“An evolution-type game?” Yu Jia read the description and understood why Yin Jian had released a new game so quickly.

The purpose was obvious: to participate in the branch’s sci-fi game competition.

“I wonder how his game turned out this time.”

“My Little World” had shown her that Yin Jian was full of ideas and creativity.

So Yu Jia was filled with anticipation for his new game.

Without hesitation, she clicked into the game and began playing.

After a brief pause, her consciousness sank into utter darkness.

There was truly nothing but darkness.

“Uh…”

Yu Jia looked around in confusion, unsure what to do.

When entering the game, a prompt had flashed before her eyes, instructing her to devour surrounding food to grow stronger.

But…

With vision pitch black, where was the food?

“He didn’t forget to add the map module, did he…” Yu Jia rolled her eyes and exited the game.

Stone: ‘Did you forget to add the map to your game? There’s nothing visible after entering.’

You Force Me: ‘I didn’t forget. When you first enter, you’re still a single cell. You just need to evolve eyes and then you’ll be able to see.’

“…”

Yu Jia read Yin Jian’s reply, opened her mouth, and for a moment didn’t know how to respond.

After thinking for a while, she typed:

‘Add some prompts, or your game is bound to flop.’

You Force Me: ‘No need. Exploring the game content is part of the gameplay.’

You Force Me: ‘Besides, no one understands games better than I do.’

*Crack!*

Yu Jia clenched her fingers in frustration—what a hopeless case!

Why was she wasting her time arguing with him?

She sent over the contract, then decisively blocked him. If she ever whitelisted this guy again, she’d consider herself a fool.

…

[Notification: The designer you follow, ‘You Force Me,’ has released a new game. Come take a look!]

While building his own world in “My Little World,” Li Shang saw this message and perked up.

“My teacher has released another game so quickly? He’s practically the model worker of the gaming world!”

He muttered in admiration, swiftly exited “My Little World,” and opened Yin Jian’s designer page to check out the new release.

“Spore Evolution?” Li Shang frowned. “Spore, as in steamed buns? Steamed buns evolving into fried buns?”

His professional troll instincts kicked in, prompting him to make a joke.

But after voicing it, he shook his head. “Teacher ‘You Force Me’ wouldn’t make something like that.”

As he spoke, he finished reading the description.

He nodded, his face showing a look of “just as I expected.”

“No wonder he’s ‘You Force Me’—even the game description is intriguing.”

With that, he eagerly clicked into the game.

And then…

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing here?

Li Shang looked at the pitch-black space around him and asked himself the three classic philosophical questions.

If it were any other designer’s game, he’d probably already be a keyboard warrior, ranting in the comment section.

But…

“Teacher’s games are always like this.”

Li Shang felt he’d seen through Yin Jian.

The games made by You Force Me are only for those who truly love gaming.

Beneath their plain, even crude, exterior lies boundless fun.

People lacking passion and patience for games could never appreciate it.

Li Shang felt a touch of sentimentality.

If not for “My Little World,” giving him some understanding of Yin Jian’s style, he would have quit instantly upon entering the game.

And thus missed out on a masterpiece.

With that thought, he calmed his impatience and threw himself wholeheartedly into exploring the dark world of the game.

Suddenly, he noticed a progress bar appear in his field of view.

Behind it were the words “Gene Unlock.”

Seeing the progress bar and recalling the prompt he saw when entering, he had a rough guess about the game.

“Find food, fill the progress bar, and unlock genes?”

But even knowing the goal, without vision, he had no idea what the food was or where it might be.

He could only control his body, wandering aimlessly.

To be honest, this process was a bit boring; if not for the progress bar steadily increasing at the bottom of his field of view, he might have quit already.

“Almost there.”

Seeing his progress bar at 90%, Li Shang couldn’t help but feel anticipation.

He sensed that when the bar was full, the real game would begin.

However…

-END-

[Evolution Level]: 0

[Gene Points]: 0

Would you like to restart the game?

Looking at his screen shifting from black to gray, Li Shang was stunned.

How did he die?

He was just about to evolve!

What the hell!

“Damn designer, give me back my feelings!” Li Shang realized that “My Little World” was merely an exception.

You Force Me actually doesn’t know how to make games at all!

A black screen, a progress bar, making you wander aimlessly, and then just when you think the real game is about to begin, you get a “You have died,” forcing you to restart. Isn’t this treating players like fools?

Do I, Li Shang, look like a fool?

“Fine, for the sake of My Little World, I’ll give you one more chance. If I die again when the bar is nearly full, don’t blame me for unleashing my wrath in the comments.”

Li Shang restarted the game, and then…

-END-

[Evolution Level]: 0

[Gene Points]: 0

Would you like to restart the game?

He died again in less than three seconds after starting.

“…” Li Shang was furious.

With his explosive temper, he refused to give in today.