Chapter 19: Evolution Forum

Chen Mo’s mind raced, but he had no other options left. He could only try his luck and make something up.

With pride, Chen Mo declared, “Ha! Didn’t I tell you your brother is amazing? I chose the role of an ordinary person, but I awakened a special ability: I can view other people’s Zhi Particle information!”

No sooner had he spoken than the intelligent brain responded.

[Manual disguise successful, data adjusted]
[Invasion crisis resolved, returning to normal]

Manual disguise… so advanced. That was close! What a fright!

Fortunately, he managed to fool the Zhi Particle. As Chen Mo thought, everyone’s Zhi Particle starts with the same settings, but they change depending on luck, personal strength, role, and other factors. So even the Zhi Particle could evolve the function to view other people’s information.

Ning Xuan suddenly understood, “No wonder you can’t switch roles, brother. You chose to be an ordinary person! Ha, how silly, choosing an ordinary person!”

Chen Mo grinned mischievously, “Ordinary people have their own advantages. Anyway, you’re not allowed to sell equipment today, or I’ll let the magic at home deal with you!”

With that, Chen Mo reached out his devilish hand toward Ning Xuan’s waist. Ning Xuan immediately cowered, “You villain! I—I won’t sell any equipment!”

Most of the items sold on the trading board were beginner gear, but there were also some rare pieces.

In Temple Escape, there were many hidden levels with treasure chests, and there was a chance to obtain high-level equipment, like the most popular gear currently on the trading board.

[Frenzied Twin Blades]
[Quality: Grade D, Excellent Weapon]
[Attributes: +15 Strength, +50% Attack Speed, +10% Critical Chance]
[Special: One of the S-grade Epic Weapon Luanna’s Hurricane components]
[Asking price: 99,999,999,999]

Ninety-nine point nine billion! That’s outrageous!

The trading system defaults to hiding the seller’s ID, but there’s an option to reveal it. The person selling the only Grade D weapon on the entire forum proudly revealed his ID—Second Demon King!

That’s right, this Second Demon King was Wang Sicong, whose name was forcibly changed. He’s showing off, he wants all the evolvers—especially the one who took his ID as the Great Demon King—to know that Second Demon King, no, he’s the real Great Demon King!

Seeing this Second Demon King’s ID, Chen Mo couldn’t help but laugh. Could this be the guy whose name he stole? If so, he’d unknowingly gained an enemy.

Through the Zhi Particle, Chen Mo learned that equipment is graded as follows: F-grade Novice (white), E-grade Common (green), D-grade Excellent (blue), C-grade Superior (red), B-grade Rare (purple), A-grade Legendary (pink), S-grade Epic (gold), SS-grade Divine (orange).

He still didn’t know how strength levels were divided—whether by character level or overall combat power. No one’s strength rating had been released yet, probably because you have to clear the novice instance before receiving a strength evaluation.

Entering the instance board, Chen Mo saw that the forum had been open only half a day, but already had over a hundred thousand posts. Clearly, the forum was wildly popular worldwide; anyone, young or old, could enter with a mere thought.

The hottest post was titled: [Shocking! How I Cleared the Level]

The author was a player with the ID Step-Into-the-Clouds. The forum and the Sphere of Evolution IDs were linked; posts could be anonymous or public.

The title was enticing, and Chen Mo couldn’t resist clicking in.

The content was rich:

Attention! Attention! Attention!!
If you want to clear the level, the most important thing is to start as a Warrior Apprentice. If you chose Mage Apprentice, hit the X in the corner and exit this post—your intelligence isn’t suited to stay here.

Some little tadpoles are upset. I like mages, I don’t like warriors, so I insist on starting as a Mage Apprentice!

If I call you an idiot, you still won’t admit it. Has the sexy elf wife ever said you can only choose a role once? Then why are there role packs in the store? Clearly, as long as you have enough points, even as a Warrior Apprentice, you can buy Mage, and these are just the two basic roles—there will surely be more in the future.

Some tadpoles ask, I chose Warrior, but why can’t I pass the 1000-meter mark?

Because you’re dumb, that’s why!

Of course, I didn’t post this to show off. I’ve cleared the level—why would I brag to you rookies who can’t even get past 1000 meters?

Now, here’s the real stuff: How to clear the level as a Warrior Apprentice!

After reading the post, Chen Mo couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. The post was indeed excellent, especially the warrior tips: how to dodge fire walls, how to evade gusts, how to avoid ground spikes, all detailed down to each second’s actions, and it even introduced the simplest routes.

The first: Always go straight ahead, no matter how many forks—choose the foremost path. Clearing this route earns you the “March Forward” achievement and 5000 points.

Second: Always choose the far right path; this route has the most surprises.

Lastly, never go left; the left path is hardest, with the most traps and the most winding route.

Other posts included [First Online Release: Conditions to Trigger 100 Special Treasure Chests], which turned out to require adding WeChat. Replies were full of curses at the scam—after paying 100 yuan, all you got was the full set of Hulu Brothers cartoons. Damn it!

[Share a Sphere of Evolution—Absolutely Safe]
Bro, are you still worrying about not finding a Sphere of Evolution? Don’t fret, don’t hesitate. Join our [Powered by Love] guild. Our guild’s sexy beauties will personally guide you to a totally safe spot for scoring points!

Many replies followed.

#Great service, white legs, five-star rating#

#Yeah, after entering, I really evolved a lot, just a bit pricey. Hope there’s a discount next time#

[Shocking Conspiracy: The Dangers of Zhi Particle]
This post was clearly written by an expert. It outlined the consequences of Zhi Particle: financial systems collapse, social services breakdown, national security threats, chaos in daily life—a well-argued, nearly ten-thousand-word essay.

Yet, the replies weren’t buying it.

#Scared me into lighting a smoke#
#Oh, got it. Next please#
#Not my problem#
#Grilled gluten, my grilled gluten, so tasty#
#Burning my calories#

It had to be said, everyone on this forum was a talent, and their witty banter was music to Chen Mo’s ears. He enjoyed it so much he spent the whole afternoon browsing, almost forgetting dinner.

Chen Mo cooked personally, making egg and tomato noodles. After the siblings finished eating, they sprawled out on wooden chairs, still browsing the forum.

Chen Mo mainly searched for information about the Sphere of Evolution’s location. Many posts recruited members for so-called guilds; some were real, some fake. If they truly had a safe evolution spot, joining a guild might be acceptable.

However, the authorities were monitoring these spontaneous guilds closely, so Chen Mo dared not act rashly.

Ding-dong!

A message arrived—it was from his homeroom teacher.

Opening it, Chen Mo felt surprised yet found it reasonable.

The message was simple: Notice—all students must report to school tomorrow. All elementary, middle, high schools, universities, and vocational schools nationwide will start early! Anyone not reporting on time will be expelled, and no employer may hire them!

Additionally, regarding the Sphere of Evolution, the school guarantees every student the right to enter it once daily!

Simple, direct, and clear in purpose—the authorities had finally acted!

Had they not, Chen Mo might have risked joining a guild. Now, he could simply attend school and enjoy the right to enter the Sphere of Evolution—who would risk joining a guild?

In the end, people still prefer to trust the state.