Chapter 260: Chapter 259: Dragon Transformation

[An unknown amount of time passed. The water in the pond began to recede. The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and it hadn’t rained for several days.]

[The water level dropped inch by inch, and the silt began to crack. Your body was squeezed by the chunks of dried mud, and fine cracks appeared on your scales. Your choice is—]

[One, continue to lie dormant and wait for the rainy season.]

[Two, burrow out of the mud and search for a new water source.]

[Three, burrow deeper in search of groundwater.]

"Option one," Zhu Ge said without hesitation.

’The rainy season will come eventually.’

’If I burrow out now, I’ll just be found by predators. If I burrow deeper, I might not find water, and I could just end up exhausting my stamina.’

[You continued to lie dormant.]

[The pond’s water finally dried up, revealing the cracked pond bed. Your body was encased in sun-baked mud, like a fossil.]

[You lost consciousness and entered a state of suspended animation. Your heartbeat almost stopped, and your metabolism was nearly zero. Trait acquired: Estivation.]

[After another unknown period of time, the sky finally filled with dark clouds. A torrential downpour began, and the dry pond refilled with water.]

[The rain soaked through the mud, awakening you from your suspended animation. You twisted your body, broke free from the mud’s hold, and swam back into the water. In the pond, all others of your kind had perished. Only you survived. Trait acquired: Struggle.]

[The pond was revitalized.]

[Aquatic plants grew, plankton multiplied, and a few small fish were even washed down from upstream by the rain, becoming your new neighbors.]

[You didn’t rush to forage for food. Instead, you burrowed deep into the silt again and continued to lie dormant. You knew that after the rainy season came the dry season, and after the dry season, the rainy season would return. Only by surviving every dry season could you truly live.]

[Years passed. You grew from two inches to five, and then from five inches to a foot long. Your body became stout, your scales grew thick, and two long, thin whiskers sprouted from the corners of your mouth.]

[You no longer just burrowed in the mud; you learned to swim through it, as agile as a snake. Trait acquired: Metamorphosis.]

[Another dry season arrived, and the pond dried up once more. This time, you didn’t choose to enter suspended animation in the mud. Instead, you used your whiskers to sense the moisture underground and burrowed toward the water source.]

[You burrowed through layers of hard, dry earth and squeezed through crevices in the rock, finally discovering an underground river. You fell into it and drifted with the current toward an unknown destination. Trait acquired: Migration.]

[The underground river led to a great river. You drifted out of its exit and fell into the wide river water. The current was swift, the depths were unfathomable, and it contained fish, turtles, and snakes many times your size.]

[You didn’t panic. Instead, you quickly sank into the mud and sand at the riverbed to continue lying dormant. You knew that no matter how the environment changed, dormancy was the way to survive.]

[In the great river, you encountered all sorts of creatures. Some were fierce, others gentle. Some were as vast as mountains, others as tiny as dust.]

[You didn’t compete with them, nor did you make them your enemies. You just lay dormant quietly in the mud and sand, waiting for food to drift by and for danger to pass.]

[Your body grew from one foot to three, and then from three feet to five. Your whiskers grew longer, able to sense prey and predators from a greater distance.]

[Finally, one day, you poked your head out of the mud and sand and looked at the endlessly flowing river before you.]

[You knew you were no longer that frail little loach from all those years ago. You could continue to lie dormant, or you could choose to swim toward a wider world. Your choice is—]

[One, continue to lie dormant and live out the rest of your days in this great river.]

[Two, follow the river downstream to the sea.]

[Three, follow the river upstream to find its source.]

Zhu Ge looked at the three options, feeling a wave of emotion.

’After lying dormant for so long, the loach has accumulated enough strength and wisdom.’

’Continuing to lie dormant would mean a peaceful life, but that’s a mediocre choice.’

’Swimming to the sea or finding the source—that’s the real ’breaking out of the cocoon’.

"Option two," Zhu Ge decided.

’The sea is bigger, with more opportunities.’

[You swam down the great river. You passed through gorges, crossed plains, and evaded countless predators.]

[You swam for several months and finally saw the sea. The water was salty and briny, the waves were turbulent, and it stretched out endlessly.]

[You sank into the seawater, burrowed into the sand on the seabed, and continued your dormancy.]

[The world in the sea was even vaster and more dangerous than the great river.]

[You saw whales as large as mountains swim overhead, giant turtles like islands basking on reefs, and schools of sharks hunting in the shallows.]

[You did not vie with them, just lay dormant quietly in the sand and mud.]

[Years passed. Your body grew from five feet to ten feet, and then from ten feet to thirty. Your whiskers became like two long whips, capable of knocking prey unconscious with a flick.]

[Your scales became like armor, able to withstand most attacks. You were finally no longer a helpless loach at the mercy of others; you had become an overlord of this patch of sea. Trait acquired: Engulf.]

[Many more years passed. You sensed a summons from the deep sea.]

[It wasn’t a sound, nor a scent, but a tremor originating from the depths of your bloodline. You knew that some existence in the deep sea was calling to you. Your choice is—]

[One, ignore the summons and remain in the shallows.]

[Two, follow the summons and swim toward the deep sea.]

[Three, enter a deeper state of hibernation and wait for the summons to fade.]

Zhu Ge pondered for a moment. ’The summons could be an opportunity, or it could be a trap.’

’But after lying dormant for so long, the loach now has the confidence to face the unknown.’

"Option two."

[You swam toward the deep sea. The water grew deeper, the light dimmer, and the pressure greater. Your body was crushed by the pressure, your scales groaning with a CREAKING sound, but you gritted your teeth and continued to descend.]

[After descending for an unknown amount of time, you finally saw the source of the summons—an ancient behemoth sleeping on the seabed, its body the size of a mountain, its aura as deep as an abyss. It was summoning all the powerful creatures in this sea to gather by its side.]

[You came before the behemoth and lowered your head, showing your submission. The behemoth opened its eyes, glanced at you, then closed them and resumed its slumber.]

[You felt a vast power surge into your body. Your scales grew thicker, your whiskers grew longer, and your body grew from thirty feet to fifty. Trait acquired: Dragon Transformation.]

[You lay dormant by the behemoth’s side for several hundred years, absorbing its ambient power, and transformed into a flood dragon.]

[This simulation has ended.]

[Traits acquired: Mud Dweller, Estivation, Struggle, Metamorphosis, Migration, Engulf, Dragon Transformation.]

[Please select one trait, or proceed to the next simulation. If you proceed, this session’s traits can be carried over to the next.]

Zhu Ge opened his eyes and let out a long breath, a trace of doubt in his mind.

’Huh... no unique trait appeared again?’

’And he felt that there was something wrong with the choices he’d made, too?’

"Begin the next simulation!"

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