mijobooks Chapter 1 [After a Terminal Illness, Did I Become the Creator?]
Chapter 1 [After a Terminal Illness, Did I Become the Creator?]
Xu sat on the waiting chair, holding the thin diagnostic report in his hand.
Stomach cancer.
Late.
My mind went blank for several seconds before the jumbled thoughts came together.
The Chinese people have a deep-rooted preference for hot food and eating it while it's hot.
Even if it's not stomach cancer, it could be esophageal cancer?
The older generation always says that cold food hurts the stomach, but who would have thought that this scalding care, accumulated over time, would actually cost them their lives?
When I was little, my mother would always blow on the piping hot dumplings that had just come out of the pot and put them into my bowl, telling me, "Eat quickly, eat quickly, they won't taste good when they get cold."
Who would have thought it would turn out like this?
He, Xu Ye, graduated smoothly from a university that wasn't top-tier but was still decent, and entered a medium-sized company, where he worked diligently as a corporate slave for several years.
They weren't rich, but through gradual accumulation, they finally had a few hundred thousand yuan in savings in their bank account.
In just a few years, Xu Ye went from a young man full of hope for the future to a lonely orphan.
But back then, at least we still had health and a small amount of savings that provided a sense of security. Life seemed to be able to maintain a semblance of peace, and because we had no more worries, there was a kind of distorted ease about it.
He once joked that he was "invincible," with no ties, no debts, and no burdens. Apart from his own life, it seemed that he had nothing left to lose.
Now, even this last bit of capital is going to be taken away.
Happiness and fulfillment?
That was just a fleeting and illusory dream.
The doctor's words still echoed in my ears: "The situation isn't the worst; the tumor is relatively benign, but it's still in its late stage, with signs of multiple metastases. Optimistically, it's still possible for it to live for a few more years..."
How many years?
Exhausting one's wealth and dignity on one's sickbed, ultimately passing away in pain and helplessness?
Perhaps he didn't want it to be like that.
After his parents passed away, he had long since become accustomed to facing everything alone.
This time, it is no exception.
Since there's basically no hope, then live according to your own wishes in your final moments.
He returned to the lifeless rented apartment and began to deal with his affairs after his death.
Most of the furniture and appliances belong to the landlord, and the tenant has very few personal belongings.
I listed them on a secondhand website and sold off my computer and guitar—things that had once brought me some comfort—at extremely low prices.
Some of the money returned to my bank account, and combined with my original savings, I had about 150,000 yuan left.
enough.
he thinks.
Let's go back to our old house in the countryside.
That's where my parents were born, grew up, and eventually passed away; it was also my childhood playground during winter and summer vacations.
Since my parents passed away, the old house has been completely empty, with only some old things that can't be taken away from me remaining there.
Is this also a kind of...returning to one's roots?
A few days later, Xu also embarked on his journey back to his hometown.
The familiar, bumpy country road, filled with the scent of earth and grass, washed away the unpleasant memories of the city.
The old house was even more dilapidated than I remembered.
Pushing open the creaking wooden door, a musty, dusty smell wafted out.
The yard was overgrown with weeds, leaving almost no place to step.
The furniture inside was covered in a thick layer of dust, a testament to the passage of time.
I spent half a day doing a quick clean of the habitable bedroom.
Along with that, Xu also remembered that his parents had some old items in their storage room that they couldn't bear to throw away, so he decided to tidy them up.
The warehouse was in the corner of the yard; it was a small, dark brick house built later.
Pushing open the slightly ajar wooden door, light struggled to squeeze in, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
It was filled with all sorts of odds and ends: old farm tools, broken baskets, and years of scrap wood, all smelling musty.
Xu covered his mouth and nose, bent down and crawled inside.
When I moved a heavy old wooden crate, I seemed to crush something brittle and hard under my feet, making a slight "crack" sound.
He subconsciously looked down, and before he could see what it was, a strange, sweet scent entered his nostrils.
The scent was faint, yet sweeter than any floral or fruity fragrance he had ever smelled before.
Xu felt a slight dizziness and his body swayed, but he quickly returned to normal.
"What the hell is that?" He frowned, used his foot to clear away the debris on the ground, and found that it was some dry and broken remains that looked like some kind of fungus or... sporangia.
Perhaps some medicinal herbs or seeds that my parents stored away rotted?
I didn't pay much attention and continued cleaning.
Starting that night, Xu also noticed some subtle changes occurring within himself.
It seems to have become more sensitive, able to hear insect chirps from further away and distinguish the various plant scents carried on the night wind.
At first, I thought it was an illusion, a psychological effect caused by the terminal illness.
But when Xu focused his attention and glanced at the moss in the corner of the wall, a strange sight occurred.
A spore with a faint, pale golden glow floats up from the moss, swirling and dancing on your fingertips as you please.
Thinking back, there hadn't been anything unusual recently, except for the strange sweet smell I smelled when I went to the countryside to tidy up the warehouse, and the things I crushed under my feet.
Yes, that's it!
In the instant that thoughts connected, countless unfamiliar pieces of information flooded into my mind, originating from that spore.
They are not any known species in Earth's existing ecosystem.
Their history can be traced back to the beginning of Earth's birth; they are ancient beings that appeared alongside the first sparks of life.
They have no self, only the purest and most fundamental function: to catalyze life, to carry out ultra-fast, unlimited division and evolution.
In other words, it is a catalyst, a key that can recreate the Great Void, and even the key that can directly touch the miracle of evolution; it can also be called the wedge of evolution.
Xu also gave them a name—"Primordial Spores".
The information also included that these spores can absorb energy from the environment (including light energy, radiation energy, geothermal energy, etc.) to maintain their existence and activity, and can be guided and controlled by him.
Is this considered a divine artifact recognizing its master?
Based on this characteristic, Xu also began to think: What is cancer?
It is the uncontrolled, erroneous, and unlimited division and proliferation of cells in the body.
What are the abilities of these "primordial spores"?
It catalyzes life to undergo ultra-high-speed, continuous division and evolution.
What if we could guide this evolution not towards cancer, but towards perfect evolution?
However, you absolutely cannot use it to experiment on yourself. While the thing itself is harmless, the amplification it provides might have some side effects on your body.
Perhaps, we could emulate the sandbox creation story format found in online novels to deduce the evolution of life!
Who knows, I might even become stronger, become an extraordinary being, and even explore the world itself. Cancer... is nothing to worry about!
"Hey, this is interesting. I'll have something to do for a while." No sooner said than done, Xu got to work.
The old house has a large enough courtyard.
Xu also selected a relatively flat piece of land in the corner of the yard, then went to the town and paid two villagers from the neighborhood to dig a pit about five meters long, three meters wide and one and a half meters deep according to his requirements.
We didn't use any cement or steel bars; that would be too complicated and too conspicuous.
Then I bought a thick, large waterproof sheet and carefully covered the entire bottom and inner walls of the pit, pressing the edges firmly with stones and soil to ensure a seal.
And so a simple yet enormous "culture pool" was formed.
Then, he brought in clear spring water from a nearby mountain stream.
They also dug up various kinds of soil and humus from the fields and forests, and collected pond water rich in algae, duckweed, and various microorganisms.
This "primordial hot spring" that can give birth to life is formed in this small space.
Xu Ye stood by the pool, looking at it, and unconsciously thought of something.
Doesn't this pool, which he isolated from direct contact with the earth with a waterproof cloth, perfectly embody the ancient mythological worldview of "a round heaven and a square earth"?
The sky covers it, the earth supports it, and the boundaries of the four directions are clearly defined.
A small world that belongs solely to him, which he can shape at will...
"Alright, let's begin." Xu Ye gave the first and most important command to the primordial spores that had merged into the pool: Accelerate!
The spores absorb energy from their surroundings, focusing their catalytic effects on this tiny pool-like world.
Ten thousand times the actual time he lived in!
This means that in the real world, one day will pass, but in this miniature world within the pool, nearly ten thousand years will have passed!
Time passed while we waited.
Apart from necessary meals and rest, Xu Ye spends most of his time by the pool, observing and feeling.
Seventy thousand years passed in the world within the pool, and life finally emerged.
It was born.