Great River, New Tools, Tribes, Edicts

That feeling had been extremely subtle, more like an illusion. Lin Tuo would never have imagined that someone, from so far away, had filmed his entire training process.

He switched his consciousness back to his main body.

Beside the Sandbox in the old house of the Martial Arts Hall.

Feeling the sweat soaking his body and the soreness in his limbs, Lin Tuo cautiously inspected the Sandbox. Through the overhead view, he confirmed that there were no signs of other human activity around his Avatar.

Only then did he quickly reach out and touch the Avatar. After hesitating briefly, he chose not to lift it with his palm. Instead, with a thought, he had the Avatar merge into his palm.

"Mm, this way is more low-key... Otherwise, grabbing it out of the sky every time will get noticed sooner or later."

Although Lin Tuo was confident he could conceal his identity, it was still better to avoid trouble when he could.

The results of this experiment were also clear: the Avatar's tempering gains could indeed be synchronized with his main body.

"Perhaps I can try letting the Avatar train inside a Sandbox in Creation Mode in the future."

Of course, that was only a vague idea. There was no need for it just yet.

For the entire following day, Lin Tuo stayed busy continuing repairs and cleaning up the Martial Arts Hall. He also hired professionals to come fix several damaged doors and windows.

As for the Evolution Sandbox, after all this time experimenting, he had confirmed that only he could see the scenes within it.

Even if he used his phone to record or take pictures, it was completely incapable of capturing those lights and shadows.

That put him much more at ease. After all, he could not possibly stand guard over it every moment.

Meanwhile, the clamor outside continued, growing ever more intense.

Online, discussion of the "Takk Black Box" was even more feverish than yesterday. Especially after the expert team arrived, that desolate stretch of land immediately drew the attention of the entire country—and even the whole world.

"Breaking news! This morning, the research team detected abnormal vibrations! Some believe they may contain important information and are attempting to decipher them!"

"More than ten academicians have already arrived in the northwest. I heard other countries are also trying to make contact and want to send teams over."

"I heard the Great Wall is incredibly mysterious, impossible to detect, and abnormally hard. At this rate, they may ultimately have to use thermal weapons and try to blast their way through..."

Countless messages flooded the internet. The ones Lin Tuo had picked out to read were considered relatively normal; far more were rumors, with speculation about Extraterrestrial Civilization dominating the mainstream.

They came in every shape and color. Some of the wild imaginings left even Lin Tuo, the "culprit," marveling in amazement.

"Looks like things won't be peaceful for a long time." Lin Tuo put down his phone and sighed, though he did not believe the world's researchers would discover anything.

Nor was he worried about his identity being exposed.

After all, the two matters had no causal connection whatsoever.

Compared to that, Lin Tuo cared far more about the evolution of the Sandbox World.

That evening, after Lin Tuo finished dinner and returned to Lishan Martial Arts School, he was surprised to find a striking new line of text in the Operation Log:

703,410,000 years of world evolution: the first true Primitive Humans were born

Humans had appeared!

Lin Tuo's heart gave a slight jolt. He quickly pushed open the door, went to the Sandbox, and bent down for a look. After seven hundred million years of evolution, the entire "continent" had already stabilized, with no more major changes.

And around the middle section of the river that ran across the continent, more and more "Primitive Humans" had gradually begun to appear.

Under the effects of Time Acceleration, Lin Tuo could not make out the specific process, but from a "macroscopic" perspective, he could see human groups the size of ants rapidly forming and expanding.

"The mark of humanity is knowing how to use tools." Those words suddenly surfaced in Lin Tuo's mind. He immediately blew away the clouds and mist, leaned down, and watched closely. At last, he spotted several gathered Cavemen by the riverbank.

Yes, these Primitive Humans who had only just learned to use tools still lived in caves, at an extremely rudimentary stage of Civilization.

Yet Lin Tuo was quite delighted.

"Taking the history of human development on Earth as reference, once the seeds of Civilization are planted, the coming rate of evolution will be astonishing."

As he pondered this, the final sliver of evening light outside the window vanished, and the second night arrived.

A mass of dark clouds and lightning emerged over the Sandbox, and in the forest, flames suddenly flared for an instant.

Thunder ignited the fire, which in turn set the forest ablaze. Countless living creatures died, but only humans tried to approach and master the flames.

In the northwest, within the original Takk Desert, now the Primeval Continent, hidden behind the Great Wall.

That day, dark clouds blanketed the sky, turning day into night. Above, only serpents of lightning writhed wildly.

Rumble!!

Terrifying thunder tore open this savage world. Across the earth, countless animals fled and hid in terror.

Within a primeval forest.

A group of Primitive Humans held cumbersome stone tools, carried prey over their shoulders, and shouted as they ran toward a cave. But just then, several bolts of lightning fell with raindrops as large as beans, plunging into the dense forest and setting off a roaring mountain fire.

The fire rode the wind and spread rapidly. Even the rain could not extinguish it.

"Wala wala!" Amid thick smoke and blazing flames, countless animals ran in terror. Several Primitive Humans were swept into the chaos and gradually swallowed up.

Some were trampled or crushed to death. Others vanished without a trace.

The mountain fire swept across the entire forest. No one knew how long passed before the terrifying blaze gradually died down, the fierce winds weakened, and the rain clouds dispersed.

Somewhere amid the ruins.

A Primitive Human who had somehow survived crawled to his feet in terror and stared at the lifeless world.

He stood dazed for a while, then staggered upright, swaying unsteadily.

He tried to drag over a wild deer that had been burned to death nearby, but as if guided by ghosts and gods, he reached out and picked up a branch still burning with fire, letting out a cry of fear and exhilaration.

"Once they master fire, they gain warmth and a weapon against attacks from wild beasts. Cooked food will also gradually improve their constitutions..."

Above the Sandbox, Lin Tuo quietly watched the changes on the continent and murmured softly.

Next, with the aid of fire, that originally frail little tribe gradually flourished.

And similar scenes appeared among countless tribes along both sides of the entire river.

Humans mastered tools and fire. Tribes gradually took root and prospered, spreading along both banks of the Great River basin. Thus was born the Great River Civilization.

The Operation Log clattered out the words.

Lin Tuo felt somewhat speechless. This Sandbox's naming style was truly simple and crude.

But...

"Looks like they might evolve a feudal state tonight." Lin Tuo silently considered it. To witness that moment, he decided not to sleep at all tonight.

"I've quit my job anyway. It's not like I need to go to work." Thinking this, Lin Tuo pulled over a chair, brought some snacks, and simply sat beside the Sandbox, playing on his phone while keeping an eye on its progress.

Sure enough, as humans began stepping onto the "stage," the pace at which text appeared in the Operation Log visibly accelerated.

Over the next twenty thousand years, all of human Civilization evolved slowly. The cold and unstable environment still severely hindered the reproduction of the tribes.

Food shortages, the torment of disease, the threat of wild beasts... Any of it could destroy a tribe at any time.

This continued until the 702,010,000th year. At last, the effects of the Last Glacial Period gradually faded. The entire continent warmed dramatically, and the changing climate catalyzed the evolution of human tribes.

...Humanity entered the New Tool Age... They left their caves and built dwellings, changed from wandering to settling down, used bows and arrows to hunt, caught fish, planted grain and rice, polished stone and bone tools, made pottery... The population began increasing rapidly, while social structures and divisions of labor gradually became clear...

Around eight thousand years later, the New Tool Age ended, and the Tribal Age began.

Throughout the Great River basin, many large tribes emerged. People mastered metal smelting, primitive stone tools were discarded, bronze and primitive iron tools appeared... A social division of labor took shape.

Dusk deepened, and night grew darker.

All of Li Mountain was steeped in profound silence, yet Lin Tuo only felt that it was extraordinarily lively.

His phone had already been set aside. Sitting in his chair, he crossed his arms along the edge of the Sandbox and watched the flickering images intently.

Under Time Acceleration, the entire Sandbox continent appeared to him like rapidly changing slides—or a photo album whose pages were being flipped at lightning speed. Every few minutes, new changes appeared on the land.

Generation after generation of Primitive Humans died.

Generation after generation was born.

Wars frequently broke out between tribes. Some were small in scale, confined to a single valley or lake.

Others were larger, vast and surging, easily drawing his attention.

For a moment, Lin Tuo felt as though he had returned to childhood, watching the battles of ant kingdoms in the mundane world. Yet reason constantly reminded him that this "ant kingdom" truly existed.

And it was not far from him at all. It lay within the same country, inside that completely sealed-off Takk Desert.

The humans who appeared tiny in his eyes were, in truth, only somewhat shorter than him. They were living, breathing people. Thus, observing them took on an indescribable meaning.

For that very reason, throughout the tribal conflicts, he never intervened. He merely watched.

Not long after he personally witnessed the decisive battle between the two largest tribes in the Great River basin and saw a victor emerge, the Operation Log hammered out a new entry:

703,002,160 years of world evolution: the two most powerful tribes of the Great River Civilization fought a decisive battle, annexed and merged. Their leader was titled Great King. The Tribal Age ended, and the Edict Age began.

After this line appeared, Lin Tuo discovered that the flow of time had slowed further. Yet the early human society in the Sandbox was becoming more and more prosperous.

Whether in the area controlled by clans, their population, or the most easily discerned scale of their buildings, everything was expanding rapidly.

"So this is what they call an increase in complexity..." Lin Tuo came to an understanding.

To him, the Edict Age already resembled the Yin-Shang Period. Although the concept of a "state" had yet to emerge, a clan-based society had already formed.

There were also more details requiring the Sandbox to accelerate their evolution.

He even saw several magnificent Altars built by the Sandbox humans, and was pleased to discover that the "Aether Concentration" in the upper-left corner of the Virtual Panel had changed from blank to "Low."

An upward arrow had also appeared after it.

This meant that Aether had finally appeared in Sandbox No.1.