Creator of Infinite Realms

Early the next morning, Xu Zhi stepped outside and gazed quietly at his hundred-acre orchard. Spread before him was a miniature world of extraordinary beauty—mountains, rivers, and lush plains meticulously sculpted by his own hands. Visitors entering the yard would never suspect such an intricate microcosm hidden behind the orchard, concealed by a psychic barrier created by the hive itself. Invisible yet absolute, this shield prevented insects, bacteria, and even stray seeds from crossing into the delicate sandbox, maintaining its fragile isolation from the outside world.

After several restful days, Xu Zhi felt completely reborn. The chemotherapy-induced baldness was fading, replaced by lush, dark hair. The pale, sickly reflection he'd grown accustomed to was now replaced by a handsome, youthful man whose body boasted defined muscles and renewed vitality.

He stared thoughtfully at his reflection. "It's been half a month since I stopped chemo. The side effects have finally faded, and my body has regained its former strength—perhaps even surpassing it. I suspect the immense life-energy released from those mass extinctions in the sandbox has subtly fed back into me."

Indeed, nurturing these insectoid creatures was more than mere experimentation; it had become an exchange of life itself. The greater the number of deaths among the insect organisms, especially higher-level species, the stronger the influx of life-energy he received. Two catastrophic mass extinctions—the Dark Cambrian and the Luminous Epoch—had significantly improved his weakened body, culminating in last night's recovery.

"But most importantly," Xu Zhi smiled gently at himself, "my hair is finally back."

"Yet, even with this recovery, I'm fully aware: cancer cells grow stronger as I do. The healthier I become, the more vigorous my illness might also grow..."

Despite this troubling realization, Xu Zhi's mood was buoyant. He decided to ride his old bicycle into the village, enjoying a rare leisurely morning. It was time to show off his newly grown, thick black hair, silencing those sorrowful glances he'd grown to loathe.

Along a dirt road dotted with cow dung and flanked by verdant fields, familiar countryside aromas filled his senses. Soon enough, a robust village aunt with weathered skin, carrying a basket of vegetables, spotted him and cheerfully called out:

"Hey, isn't that Little Zhi? Chen Xi told us you'd come back—but I couldn't believe it. I heard you're ill—is it really cancer?"

"Yes," Xu Zhi replied mildly.

"Oh, that's terrible!" the aunt quickly exclaimed. "If you're terminally ill and have no heirs, what will happen? Listen, my daughter is actually quite lovely…"

Xu Zhi nearly laughed out loud. The aunt, nicknamed "Pig婆," was clearly eager to marry off her daughter as soon as she'd heard he had cancer—perhaps hoping he'd leave behind a fortune and property for her family.

Before Xu Zhi could politely refuse, Chen Xi—the lively, round-faced girl—rushed over with several aunts behind her, her expression fierce.

"My mom said Pig婆 would definitely rush over and bother Xu Zhi again! Your daughter chased away her husband by beating him constantly. And you think Xu Zhi would marry her?" Chen Xi shouted, her eyes blazing.

"You little brat—just wait till I teach you a lesson!" Pig婆 fumed, but one glance at the disapproving faces of the surrounding women made her quickly retreat in embarrassment.

Xu Zhi watched the scene, momentarily stunned.

"Xu Zhi, don't mind her," an aunt gently reassured him. "There are always one or two troublesome ones like her in every village!"

Chen Xi glanced at Xu Zhi, then gasped in astonishment. "But…how did you change so much? You were completely bald just days ago—so bald that it was hard to look at!"

Chen Xi's mother, Aunt Li, frowned disapprovingly at her daughter. Smiling kindly at Xu Zhi, she said, "Xu Zhi has always looked this handsome. Maybe after returning home to recover, he just improved even more. Come, sit at our place."

"Yes, come over!" other neighbors warmly echoed.

"But mom, he was truly bald—a shiny Mediterranean head, and so frail!" Chen Xi continued to protest incredulously.

"Quiet, girl! Who talks that way about Xu Zhi?" Aunt Li scolded, though without malice.

Xu Zhi's lips curled into a satisfied smile. His hair represented his dignity as a man—something finally restored. He did not refuse the neighbors' enthusiastic invitation and soon sat among the villagers in Aunt Li's cozy yard, surrounded by familiar, kindly chatter. Their sincere pity and heartfelt concern warmed him, awakening memories of simpler days.

As he prepared to leave, the village aunts filled his hands with fresh vegetables and homemade snacks, gently advising, "Stay and rest—perhaps with less stress, your health might even improve."

"Thank you all," Xu Zhi smiled softly in gratitude.

"It's impossible—you look like a different person! Even your aura and appearance are completely different. Did you get replaced?" Chen Xi muttered suspiciously from a nearby chair.

Xu Zhi merely pretended not to hear, calm and unperturbed. The neighbors' sincere warmth had already restored his good spirits, outweighing Chen Xi's doubtful complaints.

After a leisurely morning spent reconnecting, Xu Zhi finally promised the villagers he'd rest quietly at home and visit often. Riding his bicycle back to the orchard, he quickly turned his attention to his evolving sandbox.

He had intentionally slowed the insect apes' evolutionary pace significantly, reducing their cell division speed from ten thousand times normal to merely one hundred times. Even so, he realized with sudden clarity that nearly eighty years had already passed inside that miniature world since he'd adjusted the time flow.

Standing at the courtyard entrance, Xu Zhi climbed atop a chair and peered carefully through a telescope, refraining from entering the sandbox to avoid disturbing its fragile ecosystem. From his perspective, this hundred-acre garden was merely a patch of land, but for those tiny ant-sized creatures, it was as expansive as a vast province.

To his astonishment, he saw that overnight, the insect apes had formed primitive tribes, donning rough animal pelts and even beginning to develop simple language and culture. Their newfound modesty—covering themselves in crude clothing—was proof that wisdom and civilization were beginning to emerge.

"At last, they've grown beyond chanting 'bald head, bald head.' This fledgling civilization holds promise," Xu Zhi murmured, satisfied.

Yet an ominous reality loomed. Despite careful genetic selection, these insect apes had been cultivated two full days ago, at a time when the sandbox ran at a frenzied ten-thousandfold pace. Now, twenty thousand evolutionary years later, their archaic genetics were severely outdated, ill-equipped to confront the massive Jurassic beasts already emerging.

"They'll soon be wiped out if nothing changes," Xu Zhi thought grimly.

With newfound urgency, Xu Zhi returned indoors, opened his laptop, and quickly placed custom orders online. "If their genes can't save them, perhaps an external catalyst—a spark of civilization—will," he murmured before shutting the laptop decisively.

Early the next morning, after his morning run, two expedited packages had already arrived at his doorstep. One contained a miniature, meticulously crafted Welcoming Pine bonsai tree; the other, a finely wrought, scaled-down alloy greatsword, elegant yet powerful.

Back in the sandbox, Xu Zhi observed the struggling insect ape tribe, now on the brink after 150 accelerated years. Resolute, he commanded softly, "Restore the insect apes' cell division rate to normal."

...

In the sandbox's southern valley—a lush Mesopotamian landscape dotted with fruit-laden forests and traversed by abundant rivers—the insect apes' final hour had come. Ruined homes, crumbling walls, and scattered corpses depicted their grim fate clearly.

"Run! Alara is coming—there's nowhere to hide!"

Clad in dark, armored fur, primitive insect ape warriors bravely wielded horned clubs as their women and children fled desperately. Yet, before the colossal, reptilian Alara beasts, they were effortlessly slaughtered, their primitive weapons powerless against superior predators.

Xu Zhi watched sorrowfully as the hive's voice calmly explained, "Only those who transcend passive evolution—becoming heroic individuals able to consciously alter their genes—can break free from being mere fodder, ultimately rising as heroes to lead the swarm."

"Do you think my insect apes could achieve this?" Xu Zhi asked softly.

"Perhaps," the hive replied neutrally. "Their genetic potential is exceptional—especially with gorilla genes integrated."

A faint hope blossomed in Xu Zhi's heart. With renewed resolve, he stepped forward, the ground quaking beneath him. Forests trembled and giant beasts fled in panic, crushed mercilessly underfoot—mere victims of nature's ruthless selection.

As he towered over the tiny insect apes, their primitive cries of awe echoed clearly to Xu Zhi, translated crudely by the hive. To these minuscule beings, he was a colossal deity, a mountain-sized god walking among mortals—a being whose presence alone was enough to rewrite their destiny.