Chapter 576: Optimizing the Earth

Chapter 576 Optimizing the Earth

A week had passed since the conclusion of the water events challenge, and Meng Fan’s trials continued apace. Though not as intense as before, when he could tackle several events in a single day, the progress was steady.

One day, after completing a challenge, he triggered a hidden progress reward once again.

“Congratulations, host, for reaching 50/100 progress on the ‘King of the World’ task. A hidden progress reward has been unlocked.”

“Progress rewards: 1. Personal reward (randomly increases lifespan by 1–50 years); 2. Family reward (close relatives will experience 1–50 random instances of good luck within one year); 3. National reward (the host’s country will randomly eliminate 1–50 major natural disasters that would have occurred within one year); 4. World reward (randomly optimizes the Earth’s natural environment by 0.1%–5%).”

“The host may select three out of the four options.”

“Please make your selection.”

This reward seemed similar to the one from the 20/100 progress milestone, with the same categories—personal, family, national, and world—but the specifics had shifted.

Upon closer inspection, choosing three out of four this time felt even harder than choosing two out of four last time.

Last time, he had skipped the personal stat boost and the world disaster elimination, thinking his stats were sufficient and that eliminating twenty natural disasters worldwide was a drop in the bucket.

Now, the rewards had changed. The personal option of 1–50 extra years of life was incredibly tempting, and the world reward of random environmental optimization was highly significant—0.1% to 5% should not be underestimated.

For instance, a 5% improvement in the Antarctic glaciers or the ozone layer could bring benefits beyond his imagination, likely a staggering figure.

After much deliberation…

“Let’s just assume the random lifespan increase is one year. I’ll be a great man for once!”

Meng Fan ultimately chose options 2, 3, and 4, once again forgoing the personal reward.

The results were generated—

Family reward: Close relatives will experience 29 instances of good luck within one year.

National reward: The host’s country will eliminate 37 major natural disasters that would have occurred within one year.

World reward: Optimize the Earth’s natural environment by 5%—maxed out!

…

Seeing that the family reward yielded 29 instances of good luck, Meng Fan breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t too many, nor too few.

Twenty-nine lucky events in a year was certainly a good thing, but for his close relatives, even fifty maxed out wouldn’t drastically change their lives—they were already doing well.

The main reason Meng Fan unhesitatingly chose this option was Wu Tong, who was pregnant, and the two children in her womb. They were all counted as close relatives by the system. For the sake of this mother and her children, even if only five lucky things happened in the coming year, Meng Fan would gladly trade five, ten, or even decades of his own life!

After the random selection, Meng Fan packed up and left the venue. As soon as he stepped outside, he had a distinct feeling—the air seemed noticeably fresher.

Normally, he might have attributed it to being cooped up indoors for too long, but this time, he connected it to the world reward.

This freshness was obvious to Meng Fan, thanks to his heightened senses.

In truth, even Meng Fan, the instigator, couldn’t fully grasp what a 5% optimization of the Earth’s natural environment meant!

He quickened his pace. Perhaps due to the family reward, he suddenly longed to see Wu Tong and find out if something lucky had happened to her.

Wu Tong’s condition had stabilized considerably, so she had moved from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Here, she had more freedom—she could go out, visit places like the Academy of Fine Arts or the Damei Studio, and engage in moderate exercise and work.

When Meng Fan got home, Wu Tong was painting. He didn’t disturb her and went to the kitchen. He found himself amusing—how could something lucky happen so soon?

Wu Tong wasn’t delicate. With her pregnancy stable and her physique strong, she could manage most daily tasks except cooking.

For meals, they usually ordered from a specialized restaurant, with Meng Fan cooking occasionally.

Meng Fan prepared a meal and set it on the table. The aroma drew Wu Tong away from her painting. They ate and chatted, then cleaned up and went downstairs for a walk.

Wu Tong showed no signs of pregnancy, but Meng Fan was brimming with paternal anxiety!

From the residential area to the academy, few people—acquaintances or strangers—could tell Wu Tong was pregnant. But seeing Meng Fan’s cautious demeanor, everyone knew.

Earlier, news had broken about Meng Fan accompanying Wu Tong for prenatal checkups. Now, his silly, doting behavior was as good as an official announcement.

At the academy, it was much the same as along the way—many greeted them, but few asked for photos or autographs, let alone gathered to stare. The reason was simple: familiarity bred indifference.

Elsewhere, Meng Fan was a rarity, but on the route from the neighborhood to the academy, he was a common sight. Those who wanted photos or autographs had already gotten them.

As they walked, they reached the sports field.

They exchanged a smile. Their fate had begun here.

Back then, Meng Fan had just acquired the system and came here to run and lose weight. He triggered the “Swift Messenger” task, and several subsequent achievement tasks were sparked by Wu Tong. He thought she was an NPC, and their connection grew inexplicably. Only later did he realize that the so-called NPC was his destined true love!

Wu Tong looked ahead, as if seeing the past, then turned to him and smiled. “Could you have imagined this back then?”

Meng Fan shook his head. “Back then, I couldn’t even catch up to you!”

Wu Tong laughed. “I’m not so sure about now. Want to race? Dare you?”

Meng Fan shook his head vigorously. No way!

Chatting and laughing, they circled the track twice, then continued walking for a while longer than usual. Wu Tong remarked that the air was especially good tonight, and the moonlight was lovelier than before.

Meng Fan agreed, thinking it might be related to the optimized environment.

As for luck, he hadn’t noticed anything fortunate happening to Wu Tong along the way. He realized he was being impatient—these twenty-nine lucky events were to occur over the entire year, not necessarily right now.

Since luck was predetermined, there was no need to rush. It would be best if luck struck at critical moments. For instance, if Wu Tong and the babies in her womb could have smooth sailing from prenatal checks to birth, that would be the greatest fortune for Meng Fan now.

Several more days passed, and Meng Fan noticed more changes from the optimized Earth environment. It wasn’t just his deliberate observation—many people felt similarly, and several professional institutions released reports around this time.

(End of chapter)