ebookland Chapter 316 The System's Greeting
Chapter 316 The System's Greeting
Lin Zhi, as if struck by a sudden thought, continued to ask the system in her mind: "Didn't you pretend to be the Beast God to Ji Xing and the others before? Why don't you take this opportunity to pretend again? If there are tribes ahead that won't let us in, just pretend the Beast God has appeared and scare them into giving us a pass."
The system immediately retorted: "Hey! You're being too clever for your own good. Every time I pretended to be the Beast God, it was to help you. Do you think I'm just doing this for fun, playing tricks on people in different worlds? I can't interfere too much with the laws of nature. They've already made the Beast God sound so mystical. If I keep pretending, every tribe should have to build a stone tablet by now."
He paused, then reminded Linzhi again in a serious tone.
"Remember this: the development of any world follows its own inherent laws. For example, if you want to engage in agriculture or infrastructure development, then the civilization of this world must naturally advance to the corresponding stage. If you force it to happen ahead of time, it will cause timeline chaos and may even lead to the collapse of the worlds where other hosts reside."
As far as Lin Zhi knows, only Guo Xiaoxiao exists in the same time and space as her. Last time, when she wanted to promote planting techniques, the system told her that, apart from the Baishi tribe, other tribes should not be easily allowed to master this technology, otherwise it would disrupt the world's original development rhythm.
Even so, Lin Zhi said jokingly.
"You've already disguised yourself as an orc and come to the real world to keep me company, what's wrong with pretending to be a beast god a couple more times? What rules could that possibly affect?"
The system, slightly embarrassed, explained further: "Ahem...it's all because of you, isn't it? I was worried you'd have problems if you stayed alone."
Then he said
"Some hosts reside in a timeline ten thousand years in the future. Our system maintains the stability of each time period. Although the concept of time itself does not exist, since a complete timeline has been constructed, any arbitrary alteration would have far-reaching consequences. All efforts might have to be scrapped and started over, and the more serious consequence would be the collapse of the world, where you, me, and even other hosts would cease to exist."
Lin Zhi was overwhelmed and too lazy to delve any deeper. In short, if she couldn't drastically change the world, she would just take care of herself and those around her. She wouldn't be stubborn and insist on going against the grain.
"Okay, okay, stop talking, I understand, I understand," she replied perfunctorily, trying to end the conversation quickly.
The system, however, changed its tone, becoming much gentler, and raised the issue it cared about most.
"Are you alright? Are you having a good time?"
Knowing that Linzhi had a history of depression before her time travel, I was always worried that her emotions would fluctuate under pressure, and that it was a psychological illness. What I feared most was that it would recur due to external stimuli.
Lin Zhi held her hand up to her eyes, unconsciously fiddling with her fingers, but a slight smile played on her lips.
"I'm fine now, everything's alright. You don't need to worry about me anymore. I'm not as fragile as you thought."
The system seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"That's good. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything. However, I've been taking care of more and more hosts lately, so I can't always respond immediately. But if you need anything, I'll prioritize your case. Consider this a backup plan."
Lin Zhi felt a warmth in her heart, and without replying, she truly closed her eyes to rest.
……
They had been traveling through the jungle in the darkness for an unknown amount of time. Jing Xie's eight scorpion legs landed steadily on the ground, one after another. Lin Zhi, covered with animal skin, lay on the broad scorpion's back, barely feeling any bumps, and slept soundly.
When she woke up, she found that the group was still moving at a steady pace. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around.
Most of the orcs had already transformed into their animal forms, but due to the long journey and lingering old wounds, some of the more seriously injured orcs were clearly struggling and fell behind the group. Some even staggered and nearly fell several times.
Aside from her, the other females, though carried on the backs of their respective males, were pale from the jolting during the rapid run. These females, who had likely never left the tribe since birth, were now facing their longest migration yet.
Actually, while Lin Zhi was asleep, some other males mustered up the courage to tentatively ask Jing Xie if their females could rest on the scorpion's back, at least for a more stable ride. Jing Xie didn't even bother to reply, only giving them a cold look, and the males sheepishly shrank back.
The primeval jungle at night should be fraught with danger, but the sheer aura emanating from such a massive orcish herd during their migration was enough to deter any ferocious beast.
Aside from the dense footsteps and heavy breathing, not a single wild beast howl could be heard. They'd probably all scurried to hide in some cave or pit, fearing they'd become the orcs' meal.
Lin Zhi yawned, stretched, and lifted the animal skin that someone had covered her with. She patted Jing Xie's hard, cold back armor.
"You've been running for a long time, aren't you tired?"
In his scorpion beast form, Jing Xie's voice became low and hoarse, with a somewhat inhuman quality. He tried his best to make his tone sound steady.
"You can go back to sleep soon."
Lin Zhi looked up, searching for Elwin and Yunying in the moving ranks.
The moonlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled patterns. Most of what was visible were the flickering silhouettes of tigers and other beasts, making them difficult to discern.
Just then, a commotion approached from the side and rear.
Elwin, leading a squad of orcs, saw that Linzhi had woken up and began running towards her at their pace.
Eight furry wolf cubs followed closely behind their giant wolf father, panting heavily as they ran, their tongues lolling out.
Lin Zhi looked down and saw this scene. He immediately panicked and leaned down to shout at Elwin below.
"Elwin! Why are you letting those little brats run around on the ground by themselves? They're so small, can they keep up? Quickly find some orcs to carry them!"
Elwin raised his massive wolf head slightly, his eerie green eyes gleaming in the night, but his tone was dismissive.
"It's alright, he can keep up. Our little guy isn't that delicate; he's fast."
Seemingly to confirm Elwin's words, one of the wolf cubs even sprinted a few steps, nudging Jing Xie's forelegs. Although it quickly fell behind again, it did manage to keep up with the group's overall speed.
Lin Zhi looked at those small figures nimbly weaving through the gaps in the massive army, feeling both heartache and helplessness.
She knew Elwin wanted to train the cubs, and she knew that orcs were indeed naturally strong in endurance, but watching the children travel long distances with the main force still left her feeling uneasy.
"But...but what if it breaks?"
She carried the care of a human mother for her child, but in reality, the wolf cubs were being followed by other females' cubs, running themselves ragged, yet without excessive interference from either females or males.
In the orcs' minds, developing a strong physique in advance greatly helps with future star-level advancement. If they complain of getting tired after running a few steps, how can they protect the tribe or hunt? If their physique is truly too poor, being eliminated is simply the law of nature.
It won't fall.
As soon as Alvin finished speaking, a tiger's roar pierced the sky and echoed through the forest.