Free Web NovelChapter 395: Chapter 387: Evolution! The Calm Before the Storm
A 6% probability?
The odds seemed small, but it was a branch of destiny Shi Ming could not accept.
Even 1% was unacceptable.
His entire purpose in using Destiny Calibration was to prevent such low-probability events. Ensuring the Active Wormhole entered its evolutionary state smoothly was the absolute priority.
More branches flashed through the River of Destiny in Shi Ming’s eyes, each representing a different flow of fate within the next sixty minutes.
In a mere instant, he had seen all the possibilities—
[Branch 3: The Ultimate Coward]
[The Active Wormhole has a stroke of genius and decides it should evolve somewhere else. As if possessed, it activates a "Miniature Wormhole" and randomly travels to an Exotic Star Domain.]
[Probability: 0.01%]
A 0.01% probability was minuscule, meaning this branch was extremely unlikely to occur without intervention.
And without a doubt, a random Cosmic Star Realm represented instability for the Active Wormhole. It was far from ideal compared to evolving right here, especially with seven "supplements" waiting to be consumed after its advancement.
[Branch 4: Just Deserts]
[The Active Wormhole has devoured countless life forms, including many unique races. The sources of their abilities, while slowly being digested and mutated within its stomach, contained tenacious spirits that were never extinguished. Seizing the moment of instability before the evolution, one of them successfully detonates the Active Wormhole’s stomach from the inside. BOOM... It succeeded! The Active Wormhole lost its opportunity, and its life.]
[Probability: 0.003%]
[Branch 5: Higher-Dimensional Hunt]
[Branch 6: Destiny’s Descent]
[Branch 7: The Frozen Kingdom]
...
The myriad branches of destiny made Shi Ming marvel once again at fate’s twisted and random nature. Although some branches could lead to peculiar side quests, the Eye of Destiny could only calibrate the river’s flow for the next sixty minutes. Indulging a moment of morbid curiosity and causing even a slight change could send the situation spiraling out of control.
That was not something he should be doing at this stage.
He no longer hesitated, locking onto Branch 1, [Peaceful Evolution].
Destiny Power coalesced in his eyes.
Destiny Calibration!
Locked!
With what sounded like the turning of gears, or perhaps the surging of the great river, the thick branch Shi Ming had chosen suddenly became dazzlingly bright. The other, smaller branches—whether [The Ultimate Coward] or [Just Deserts]—dimmed, withered, and vanished.
The next sixty minutes of destiny were now locked in place.
As if following a director’s script, the Active Wormhole could no longer suppress its urge to evolve. Silken threads wrapped around its body, forming a solid chrysalis. The nebula’s light dimmed and retracted. Where the Candle Mirage’s corpse had been, a cocoon now lay quietly at the bottom of the Ice Lake, undergoing a metamorphosis of life.
This was the beginning.
Shi Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
Once evolution began, it could not be stopped, short of death or failure.
So far, everything was proceeding according to Shi Ming’s script. In that moment, he thought he understood why the Ten Thousand Forms Kun was so keen on being destiny’s "director." Low-probability events were always bound to happen in the world. A "director," however, could control everything on stage, eliminating all unfavorable factors and ensuring events unfolded exactly as they wished.
The Ice Lake returned to its silence.
As they were both Holy Hall Tier, Shi Ming’s power was, for now, still superior to the Active Wormhole’s—his Spiritual Power, in particular, completely overwhelmed it. He began to discreetly observe the Active Wormhole’s evolution. This was an extremely rare opportunity to witness a creature’s evolution, its nirvanic rebirth. Just a glimpse or two would yield infinite benefits.
Moreover, this was a critical moment for him to gather intelligence.
If he could witness the birth of a [Borer] from scratch, he would surely gain a deeper understanding of it. The Eye of Destiny would even provide occasional commentary, giving Shi Ming new insights.
This was not just the evolution of a beast,
It was also Shi Ming’s evolution.
...
...
...
Aboard the Da Yu, Shi Dun emerged from a luxurious culinary workstation carrying a portion of prepared, charred Phoenix Flesh.
He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
WHOOSH... A twenty-sided Light Cone descended from the sky, landing in the space before Shi Dun and spinning to a stop.
9!
Shi Dun failed to eat.
After a while, he rolled again.
13.
The meat in his mouth was successfully swallowed. A portion of the Phoenix’s "Undead Overture" ability source entered his body through ingestion and was absorbed.
The Light Cone World, a world where every action was determined by probability.
For humans, this was naturally inconvenient. Even falling asleep at night required a roll of the dice; a number greater than 10 was needed to successfully drift off.
But the captain must have had a profound reason for such an arrangement.
The Light Cone World was hazy and dreamlike, but one could still vaguely see the distant ocean from the ship. However, any person or object that entered it could neither leave voluntarily nor interfere with the outside world. It was possible to receive communication signals from the outside, but the delay was magnified tenfold, to twenty hours.
Today was the ninth day of living in the Light Cone World.
BING~
12.
After quickly finishing the Phoenix Flesh, Shi Dun received the latest digital edition of the Red Truth Daily. The Red Truth Daily was the official newspaper of the King-level Wandering Ship, the [Katyusha], and was the closest source of information to the Extreme North Ice Sea. Its information delay was much better than that of other King-level Wandering Ships.
He didn’t try to print it.
Because whether the printing would succeed or not also required a dice roll. During his time living here, he had learned to live with fewer needs.
"First Artificial Landmass in the Endless Ocean, "Wall Point," Officially Commissioned."
"Da Yu: "Wall Point" Will Become a Settlement for "Wild Ship" Wanderers!"
"Statisticians Report a Significant Decrease in Sea Beast Incidents Over the Last Three Months, Endless Ocean Safety Index Increased by 5%"
"Katyusha Climate Bureau Predicts This Winter Will Be the Coldest in 30 Years!"
"..."
Staying in the Light Cone Space, there wasn’t much else to do. The crew of the Da Yu could take a long vacation. Although taking this vacation was a bit troublesome, it only involved rolling a die and posed no other dangers.
This was probably the safest region in the entire Endless Ocean.
...
...
...
"Volunteer No. 3’s Brain Domain Celestial Net Chip went offline briefly, but connection is not lost."
"Excellent. We’ve made some progress, Senior. I told you hard work pays off."
「Mount Everest, Xirang Research Institute.」
Chen Qingyu and Li Jiuyuan had just finished a round of experiments.
The volunteer lying on the equipment was a genuine volunteer, not one of the "lucky" members of the Vortex Country from the Lighthouse Laboratory. Finding one of the Vortex People on the seas now was exceedingly difficult.
After recording the data, Chen Qingyu said, "Next, we just need to find a controllable and stable interference variable. Then we’ll be able to temporarily block the Celestial Net signal and disable the Celestial Net Chip at critical moments!"
Li Jiuyuan poured himself a cup of refreshing tea.
"We’ve been working overtime until four in the morning. With this much effort, we’re bound to see results soon!"
