Shepherding Humanity

"If you’re gonna die, then just f*cking die! Must you cause so much trouble before passing on?"

Looking at this scene, Xu Zhi was dumbfounded, and silently cursed the little bastard.

Why couldn’t he obediently get assassinated and log out? Stop causing trouble for me!

  After all, this transmigrator emperor was certain to make one last attempt at finding the land of the gods, "Achilles", and have an audience with the heavenly gods before dying.

  Xu Zhi wanted to tell him: I haven't built that map yet! It would be very embarrassing for me if that gets revealed!

  He didn’t think that, even though this guy has been injured to this degree, and even fainted in the game, he still didn’t want to accept death. He desperately struggled on, and was begging for sympathy while frantically posting online. Wasn’t this guy's desire to live too strong?

Xu Zhi was speechless.

    You are the great Emperor of Alchemy, the supreme being of this era, why are you acting so pitiful? Have you no shame? Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you get seen by people in the Magic World?

    And even in reality, you are still a prestigious over-forty-year-old CEO of a tech company. Stop acting cute! Where’s your dignity? 

  Xu Zhi blinked; he didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. "Forget it, I'll let him be. As long as he does not cause trouble and give me a headache before logging out, then everything’s fine."

Xu Zhi couldn’t stop the bastard anyway. It wasn’t as if he could disconnect the guy.

Xu Zhi was not really the Creator. He was a simple farmer, and he couldn’t even interfere much with the development of civilization in his own sandbox.

How was he supposed to do that?

  Enter the sandbox all the time as the towering, thousands-of-feet-tall Creator? That’s too impractical!

Transform into the God of Wisdom, Mercury, and intervene? Too troublesome, and also impractical!

"Besides, how can the netizens outside possibly help you?"

Xu Zhi calmly shook his head. He felt that this guy was only struggling in vain. "You’ve been cornered to this degree even though you’re the Emperor of Alchemy; no matter how amazing those netizens are, they won’t be able to help you. Just obediently remain unconscious by the roadside and die."

Xu Zhi indifferently bit down on his apple. "You’re only dragging out your death."

……

At this moment.

  After the renowned “Future Skywhale" begged for help in the other world, the game’s forum was stirring with excitement. Even the other forum full of elites was abuzz. 

Even though this was a forum of VIPs where each member had an annual income of millions and lived a storied life, they still felt very proud that Grantham was turning to them for help.

"F*ck!"

"This topic seems interesting!"

"We have an average monthly income of one million, and everyone here is talented and well-spoken, but I know this person; he isn’t simply making things up! He is indeed a transmigrator, and another world’s legendary Emperor of Alchemy."

  On the forum, everyone wanted to know about the situation. How could he be having such a hard time in another world? He gave transmigrators everywhere a bad name!

  Grantham explained that he was getting old and was nearing the end of his life.

  His spiritual power was less than one-tenth of what it originally was. If only he was a true Seventh Level Epic Wizard, then he wouldn't be killed by a sneak attack even if he had grown old. After all, the gap between each Level was significant.

  But he was only Seventh Level thanks to his alchemical constructs, and he was basically a Sixth Level Wizard in the end.

When the players heard what he had to say, they immediately understood and laughed:

"We can't help you. Just obediently die. (😂)"

"Just lie down and die. You fainted by the roadside, some housewife might have picked you up and is now getting ready to cook you! (😂)"

  "The above poster is too heartless. He’s the great Emperor of Alchemy! But I’m not like you! Boss, first write this in your will: In a few hundred years, a red-colored creature with eight tentacles will appear. This creature is the son of heaven, and all who remain loyal to the Emperor of Alchemy must support him at that time. (Yes, that son of destiny is me. I’ll be the next person to leave the Beginner’s Village! I’m already halfway bald!)"

"Bro, you’re amazing!"

….

In the forum, a bunch of *ssholes were causing a stir, demanding that Future Shywale leave behind a will, or a secret treasure trove.

He was going to die anyway, they’ll at least be able to avenge him later on. They’ll claim the Emperor of Alchemy’s inheritance, and get rich overnight after leaving the Beginner’s Village!

  Compared to them, other netizens were much more serious:

"Is it really that amazing? Does the other world really have that kind of AI? There’s even a rebellion, and various forces are trying to assassinate you. It’s that realistic and hardcore?"

"The situation is indeed urgent. The great Emperor of Alchemy has fainted by the roadside, and it’s uncertain whether he still lives."

"I have been following this game for a while. Isn't this really another world?"

  "Yes! According to all the gathered data, it’s indeed a real world. Maybe this game’s technology is even more advanced than we have imagined, and is in fact aliens sending Earthlings to another planet. You’ve all read those webnovels, right? Where an MMO is actually taking place in another world!"

  "Medical students, show yourself! Weren’t you all determined to ‘Fight on!’? If you’ve already completed that Potion of Longevity by now, then the boss wouldn’t have gotten attacked in his old age!"

"Yes, the Emperor of Alchemy only got assassinated because he has grown old. It’s all your fault! (😤)"

  The people on the VIP forum were still very righteous.

Faced with such a difficult challenge, they launched the plan to "Gather ideas from all netizens to save the Emperor of Another World".

  The mighty keyboard warriors began to discuss countermeasures. Renowned big-shots began to appear one after another; their analysis of the situation and plans for a desperate counterattack left everyone in awe. 

  This wave of posts about exploring another world and saving the Emperor of Alchemy instantly pushed the thread to the top of the search engines:

"The other world’s Emperor of Alchemy has been assassinated. What should I do? Urgently waiting online!"

Moreover, in the VIP forum, people have started to blame the medical students. After all, this only happened because of them.

It’s our fault?

When the medical students heard about this, they were pissed off beyond belief.

  They all protested, saying that they were innocent and have already tried their best—they even stayed up all night for this.

But how much time has passed now?

  It’s been little more than a day—about 30 hours—and the 4,000 something students have already worked very hard. They hadn’t pushed themselves that hard even for their postgraduate exams! They simply didn’t have enough time.

Among them, the following medical student was the first to speak up.

  Studying medicine to save another world: "According to the information given to us by the big boss, there are currently seven different methods for brewing the Potion of Longevity. We’ve carefully studied the medicinal properties of these seven variants and concluded that they’ve already extended his lifespan to the absolute limit. Making an even better potion is basically impossible… We really can’t do anything about this; the boss' aging is irreversible. The Three Witches must have also tried various methods in vain back then."

I love learning: "Then aren’t you guys useless?"

  Studying medicine to save another world: "😓! But we’ve found a new approach! Since we can't prolong his lifespan in this manner, we should try to develop a ‘Potion of Genetic Expansion'! It will open up enough genetic space for people to integrate a third gene.

  At his current level, he has already reached the limit of his lifespan, so we must help him become a more powerful life-form by integrating a third gene! "

Everyone became excited when they read this.

A third gene?

Grantham was dumbfounded.

  He was sitting before his computer while begging for help, but he didn't really think that anything would come of this. He just wanted to struggle one last time, even though it would be in vain, but who knew that these medical students would work this hard to prove themselves! They were even crazier than he was!

"They actually found a way to save me! What an ingenious idea!"

Grantham was extremely excited.

  When Xu Zhi saw this, he was also surprised. He didn't think that there would be such amazing hidden talents among the netizens. They’ve really found a way?