Chapter 536

Chapter 536: The New Reward from the System is Actually a Philosophical Mask?

"Not bad… not bad…"

"It seemed the ancient cup animal colony was already taking shape."

"The stability of the ecosystem had also improved."

"It could be said that this ecological system was self-sustaining."

The stability of an animal colony had to be judged by how it handled sudden events; if it could withstand minor disasters that weren’t "version change level," it meant the colony had become stable.

The simplest test was when a few animals invaded.

Australia’s animal colony was messed up by stray cats, mice, and goats because the old Australian ecosystem had already taken heavy hits from climate changes, wiping out most species.

Later, it also suffered a dimension-reducing strike from the Horror Upright Apes.

By the time stray cats invaded, the local ecosystem had changed many times, and native species were pushed aside long ago.

Ancient South America’s ecosystem was similar.

Before it bumped into North America, it had already been hit by a dry and cold climate.

Big native animals like the terrestrial crocodile, Purus crocodile, and the bagged saber-toothed tiger died off together before they could face northern large predators like saber-toothed tigers.

The only mammals they met were from the raccoon family.

And while the raccoons that came in were getting larger, they mostly acted as Scavengers. They caused some trouble but not much.

At the same time, local herbivores of the South American ungulate order were fading away due to climate shifts.

By the time real big northern mammals invaded, South America’s native large predators were just leftovers like the theft crane and giant ground sloth.

A stable and healthy ecosystem worked differently.

Even with some species invading, the many Ecological Niches meant something was always around to keep the invaders in check.

For instance, cats spreading worldwide hurt city ecosystems badly because cities had little to fight stray cats.

Could it be… to stop stray cats from harming local animals, we bring in stray dogs that hurt people?

But in Southeast Asia, stray cats were controlled by the only big predator that thrived in cities—the Swamp Lizard.

This kept stray cats from spreading; they were held down by lots of Swamp Lizards. On the other hand, the native Swamp Lizard in Southeast Asia boomed in human cities’ easy living and needed yearly culling.

"This time, my shallow sea ecosystem trial stood up to invasive species!"

Trilobite puffed out his chest proudly.

Honestly, that was tough.

Humans tried closed ecosystem experiments on Earth, but they all failed quickly.

Of course, that didn’t make Trilobite a genius.

After all, he tricked Miss Themis into being the "administrator."

Don’t think Miss Themis was useless just because she ducked and covered at any sign of trouble; as the "former Will of the World," she knew how to run a small world.

"Next, they could invade other places!"

"Ahahaha…"

Trilobite laughed wickedly, like a bloodthirsty, greedy villain.

But at that moment…

[Ding—!]

The system’s prompt rang out after so long.

[Building a stable ecosystem wasn’t easy at all, completely different from nurturing a miniature ecosystem; it required careful consideration of many factors.]

[Congratulations, host! You’d successfully finished such a tough task, laying a solid cornerstone for your Great Plan.]

"Ah, well…"

"That’s true."

"I did mean to build a breakwater."

"The ancient cup animal colony, as reef-building organisms, really played a key role in weakening waves."

"But the system wouldn’t just do this for no reason."

"Saying so much, it must have more to add."

Sure enough…

[The system rewards the host with a special mechanism! Keep up the good work!]

[Thud…]

Something landed with a muffled sound in Trilobite’s mind.

Inside the system lay an ordinary box.

Without overthinking, Trilobite gently clicked it open.

"Uh…"

He saw a mask.

"Wait, more like a hood…"

"Similar to Batman’s, but missing the ear blades."

"Huh? Looks oddly familiar though…"

"Hold on…"

Trilobite suddenly remembered where he’d seen it!

"Isn’t this that ‘Deep♂Dark♂Fantasy’ hood!?"

"I think VAN wore this!"

The mood abruptly turned philosophical.

"What’s the system trying to do!?"

"Does it want me to cosplay Dark Tong Dawei?!"

Trilobite touched and flipped the hood with his mind.

Soon, he spotted a line of text.

[Special item: Hood of the Altered Oddball.]

[Usage cost: 10,000 Chaos Energy per hour.]

"Wow!?"

"You want 10,000 per hour for this piece of junk?"

"Just go rob someone instead!"

But as he read further, his attitude shifted slightly.

"Hmm…"

"Not much value for money."

"Still fine to play with once in a while though."

—-

"Freaky!"

"This sea’s gone freaky!"

"Not what we bargained for!"

…

The back-row companions saw everything—the agony, thrashing, and howls.

Instinct drove them to retreat.

They wheeled around, swimming toward the exit of the Ancient Cup Divine Realm.

But…

Getting in was easy; getting out…

depended on whether the local "administrator" felt like letting them leave.

"Hmph!"

"You think I’m some toilet attendant!?"

"Coming and going as you please!?"

"Did you even ask me!?"

Had Trilobite checked his system then, he’d have witnessed one of the rare "CG animations"—The Wrath of Themis!

There stood "Miss Themis" in her "waterproof suspenders and wide leather pants"—standard "fisherman’s gear." She gripped a fishing trident symbolizing both "sea god’s authority" and "fishpond owner" status.

"Hey——!"

Her sharp cry pierced the air as Miss Themis thrust the trident into the "sea," sleeves rolled high to reveal fair, lotus-like arms.

"Rise!"

The trident churned violently through the Ether Sea.

The waves leaped in sync with the dark ponytail’s movements.

"Boom—Boom—Boom—!"

The Sea of Ether erupted with an angry roar as the currents whirled rapidly, churning up the Ancient God Fragments and Primal Mud on the ocean floor.

The view blurred instantly, obscuring all directions.

Yet this posed no lethal threat.

After all, the Ether Sea behind the dam had only one exit—they’d find it if heading the right way.

Moreover, these Ether subordinates dwelling in the dim Abyssal Sea had poor vision anyway, navigating primarily by "Magic Power characteristics."

The true death sentence was the terrifying current surging violently into the Ether Sea behind the dam!

“No—!”

“Ah—!”

“Help!”

The sweeping torrent proved far more devastating than any gale.

Smaller Ether subordinates were overturned by the raging ether backflow.

Tumbling backward, they entangled with the “Ancient Cup God’s tentacles” similarly thrown into disarray.

“Zzzzt…”

“Hsss…”

They were ensnared almost instantly.

Frantic tail-fin thrashing proved futile as the backflow wound them around tentacle after tentacle.

Hopelessness claimed them swiftly.

"Dare to offend me!?"

"Sick of living!?"

"Fine! I’ll grant your wish!"

"All of you shall become my fertilizer!"

“Guhahahahaha…!”

Miss Themis laughed maniacally with hands on hips, her little fangs glinting coldly—the very picture of a villain reveling in her role.

“Er…”

But her triumph proved short-lived.

Some larger "big fish," burning with survival instinct, thrashed desperately while channeling all their Magic Power into mobility.

Through sheer will, they escaped the ether backflow.

“Huff… huff…”

“So terrifying! Not easy at all!” one gasped.

“The Abyss deceived us!” another wailed. “We’ve been tricked!”

“Never… coming back!”

…

A few among the Ether subordinates neared Tyrant-level strength.

Though vibrant with unique wonders like the Ancient Cup Domain—unseen elsewhere in the Endless Ether or Chaos Swamp—the Ether Sea behind the dam remained too confined.

Even Miss Themis’s violent “ether backflow” had its limits.

While sufficient to purge weaklings, the strong could still swim out against the current.

“Aaaah—!”

Miss Themis wailed, her voice drawn out and tearful.

“How could this be!”

“The nasty ones are getting away!”

“Aiya!”

“This infuriates me!”

Thwarted from punishing the intruders, Themis stamped her foot. She’d intended to let none escape her carefully tended “aquarium.”

“Ahem, fret not.”

“You’ve still got me.”

“Thud… thud… thud…”

Having observed the spectacle long enough, Trilobite cautiously stepped into the shallow sea.

“Ha!?”

Miss Themis planted her hands on her hips, eyes wide with indignation.

“Now you show up!”

“King of opportunistic gains?”

“And what’s with the head!?”