Chapter Fifty-Two: Trait—Prophet of the Race

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“Congratulations, player. Due to the incarnation’s intense personal will and successful growth, a new trait has awakened: Racial Prophet (Intermediate).”

“Trait: Racial Prophet (Intermediate)” (Born from the sika deer’s powerful yearning for its kin and rapid personal transformation.)

(This trait attracts members of the same species to gather around the Prophet, as if guided by fate. It also shelters the group from the negative effects of the Prophet’s other traits.)

As Ji Yu busied himself with constructing his Wonderland Park, and just after the sika deer’s vitality broke through the eighty-point mark, a sudden prompt sounded in his mind.

He immediately opened the incarnation panel and saw this newly emerged trait.

“Born from longing and growth?”

Reading the description on the panel, Ji Yu was slightly taken aback.

So a trait could actually be awakened through the power of will?

Ji Yu was well aware of the sika deer’s longing for its kin. After all, the sika deer’s consciousness was enveloped by his own; how could he not know? Yet, since the sika deer could not be gazed upon directly, all Ji Yu could do was offer sympathy and transmit comforting emotions.

But this spontaneously awakened trait was truly remarkable.

This revelation sparked a series of thoughts within Ji Yu.

What drives the evolution of living beings?

According to modern science, evolution is a matter of survival of the fittest—only those who constantly adapt to their environment endure through the ever-changing world.

But from another perspective, could evolution be seen as a transformation guided by will?

For instance, when Earth was still in its aquatic epoch, life first arose in the sea. Later, driven by dangers or other reasons, some of these creatures yearned for land, prompting the evolution from aquatic to terrestrial life.

Though the process was slow, wasn’t this, in a sense, evolution spurred by collective will?

Now, the sika deer, propelled by intense individual will and catalyzed by life energy, had accelerated its own evolution, resulting in the emergence of the Racial Prophet trait.

Does this not suggest that the birth of traits can, in fact, be influenced by personal will?

The more Ji Yu pondered, the more plausible this seemed. The emergence of traits is not entirely random—they might be steered by conscious intent.

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Although the process was certainly not easy, at least this gave Ji Yu a direction in which he could act.

It was worth remembering that, up to this point, Ji Yu’s main body had never undergone even a single instance of life grafting.

Being in the city, and wary of further physical growth that might cause trouble, he had chosen to do nothing for the time being.

But now, with the sika deer’s newly awakened trait as a hint, Ji Yu suddenly saw a breakthrough to his previous dilemma.

“If I constantly suggest to myself that I want my body to remain within the normal human size, is there a good chance I might awaken a trait that preserves my form?”

“With the boost of life grafting, perhaps it could really work—just like the sika deer.”

These thoughts filled Ji Yu with delight.

Of course, it was all speculation for now. To test it, he would need to leave Wuyin City for a while.

He would return to his hometown, conducting life grafting experiments in the nearby mountains and fields.

With these plans in mind, Ji Yu turned back to his nearly completed ring-shaped park and resumed his work.

Meanwhile, as Ji Yu continued his efforts, deep in the vast, continuous forests of the Jishui Mountain range, many sika deer herds were suddenly waking from their sleep.

The deer stretched their necks, curiously lifting their heads toward a particular direction, then fell silent for a long time.

But after a low call from the lead stag, all the deer lying on the ground stood up.

Moved by some vague, inexplicable instinct, this herd of more than a dozen sika deer began heading in the direction where Ji Yu was.

Nor were the wild sika deer the only ones stirred to action. Near the Jishui Mountain range, the sika deer farms were thrown into unrest as well.

“Old Guo, wake up! Is something in the pen? All the deer are calling out.”

In a bedroom, Guo Zhize’s wife, roused by the chorus of deer cries, hurriedly woke him up.

Still groggy, Guo Zhize quickly became alert as the cries grew in intensity.

The farm was their family’s livelihood—nothing could be allowed to go wrong.

“Quick! Yang Hong, turn on all the electricity in the pens. I’ll go check inside!”

Without a second thought, Guo Zhize leapt out of bed, didn’t even bother with shoes, and rushed toward the farm with all haste.

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Pausing only to grab the iron shovel by the door, he made his way out.

Predatory animals were common around the Jishui Mountain range—leopard cats, in particular. Though small, they were fierce and wild, and if encountered, it was wise to have some protection on hand.

Clutching the shovel, Guo Zhize hurried to the fence of the farm.

By then, the floodlights around the pens had come on—his wife had thrown the switches—and the entire scene was illuminated before his eyes.

He saw that, though the deer were calling out, their cries were not panicked. All of them had their backs to him, facing the forest behind the farm, calling into the darkness.

“What on earth has gotten into them?” Guo Zhize frowned, opened the gate, and stepped inside.

Though the herd showed no obvious signs of distress, their persistent calling made him wary of something hidden among them, so he went in to check closely.

Yet, as he moved among them, none of the sika deer paid him any mind. They completely ignored his presence, focusing instead on calling to the forest beyond.

After inspecting the entire herd and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Guo Zhize was left thoroughly puzzled.

“What’s going on with these deer? Could it be a wild deer passed nearby? But that doesn’t make sense.”

“Even if a wild deer had wandered through, these farm deer have their own group structure. They wouldn’t be so enthusiastic toward outsiders.”

No matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t make sense of it. In the end, to be safe, he decided he would ask the town’s sika deer veterinarian to come by in the morning.

“Old Yang, what’s going on? Did anything get in?” his wife asked, bringing his shoes over.

“It’s nothing. I have no idea what’s gotten into them. I’ll ask Old Zheng from the town to have a look tomorrow.”

Shovel in hand, Guo Zhize left the pen.

And as Guo Zhize finished dealing with his own herd, the same commotion was unfolding in every deer-raising household in the village. For a while, the entire village was thrown into chaos, with chickens and dogs all in a flurry.