Chapter 15

A pebble traced a parabolic arc through the air, hitting the trunk of the black giant tree with precision.

A light “thud,” barely audible, seemed like thunder in Fang Yizhi’s ears. Every muscle in his body tensed up, knees slightly bent, toes pressing down, poised for a swift escape.

Damn it! If he had known this little troublemaker would cause such a ruckus, he should have tossed it to the undead when he was running for his life earlier!

Cursed bad luck!

While Fang Yizhi maintained a calm exterior, his inner thoughts were filled with curses.

Perhaps the tree trunk was too sturdy to be shaken by a small pebble. Or maybe it was because the moth swarm had just been born and needed time to gather strength. Whatever the reason, the worst-case scenario did not unfold.

The pebble landed silently on the soft sand. The moths rubbed their wings together, making a rustling sound, yet they did not fly over to spread their toxic scales.

After waiting a few seconds to ensure the danger had passed, Fang Yizhi finally let out a slow exhale.

“Hmm?” The pink grasshopper, hiding in the grass, scratched its head with its pincers.

Why aren’t the moths flying over? They are still waiting for a feast!

“Eat my ass!”

A cold voice rang out from above, a large foot reaching down to ruthlessly squash the pink grasshopper, grinding it back and forth.

“Wu… Wu…” Unable to breathe, the pink grasshopper could only emit pained cries, its pincers twisting the flesh on Fang Yizhi’s foot, its big eyes welling up with moist tears.

Fang Yizhi pressed down several times, feeling the soft flesh on the sole of his foot almost bursting before relenting with a sense of mercy.

Lifting his foot, he looked down. The once plump pink grasshopper now resembled a flat pancake, its pincers unflattened, resembling ears on a pancake, a big eye blinking pitifully, a tear rolling down its cheek.

“Don’t try to play innocent with me! I’m not falling for it!” Fang Yizhi coldly smiled, his eyes subtly shimmering.

Damn it, why does this monster look so cute?

The pink flattened ball wiped away its tears with its pincers, slowly inflating its belly, returning to its meatball-like form. Peering fiercely at Fang Yizhi through the gap in its pincers, it dared not openly provoke him.

“Are you glaring at me?” Fang Yizhi raised his foot.

The pink  Flesh ball hastily shut its eyes, raising its pincers in a gesture of surrender.

Fang Yizhi, with fluctuating emotions, stared at the little creature but refrained from bringing his foot down.

With a dissatisfied click of his tongue, he coldly warned, “If next time you appear in human form before me, I will definitely kill you!”

Turning into a human would mean the little monster had devoured a person, something he couldn’t ignore.

The pink flesh ball still shut its eyes, lifted its pincers, trembling with its soft flesh. It appeared timid and feeble, seemingly harmless.

But its potential was truly fearsome!

Fang Yizhi glanced at the nearby black giant tree, then at the shivering little creature, before turning to leave. However, after taking just a couple of steps, a sharp pain shot through his calf.

“Hiss!” Inhaling sharply, he turned back to see a pink scorpion tail needle embedded in his calf, injecting venom, with a spider silk strand connected to the broken end.

“You ambushed me!” Fang Yizhi immediately reached to pull out the needle.

The pink flesh ball swiftly used its pincers to reel in the spider silk, retracting the shot needle, its eyes gleaming with cunning.

It hadn’t forgotten being squashed!

“No good deed goes unpunished! Today, I will definitely take you down!”

Fang Yizhi exploded with anger, wiping off the venom from his calf and striding purposefully towards the little monster, his fists clenched tightly.

The pink flesh ball immediately transformed into a mole cricket, its shovel-like forelimbs swiftly digging through the moist, soft soil and burrowing underground.

One must always be prepared to run when taunting a stronger predator; it’s one of the rules of hunting.

By the time Fang Yizhi reached the spot, all he saw was a chubby tail disappearing underground, leaving behind a handful of foul-smelling mud splattered on his foot, akin to spitting in defiance.

Shaking off the mud, Fang Yizhi smirked, surprisingly amused by the situation.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself not to get worked up over a little monster. He turned to walk away but then abruptly turned back, staring at the hole, muttering menacingly, “Damn it! If I don’t catch you today, I’ll write my name backward!”

His ten fingers rapidly grew sharp, black nails. Fang Yizhi crouched down, following the mole cricket’s tunnel, an especially fierce expression on his face.

Hearing the commotion behind it, the pink mole cricket, which had slowed its digging pace, turned back in confusion.

Suddenly feeling sharp nails touching its chubby backside, it was startled. The strange big bug had caught up!

“Chirp!” In a fretful chirping, the pink mole cricket desperately dug forward.

Fang Yizhi, too, was rapidly excavating, his pale skin now covered in dark mud spots, appearing disheveled yet somewhat comical.

He resembled a dog playing wildly on the beach in this state.

However, he paid no heed to his appearance, fiercely muttering, “Keep digging! Keep digging! If you have the guts, dig through the Earth! Even if you run to the ends of the Earth, I’ll still catch you!”

With mud flying everywhere, the man and the insect fervently dug into the soil.

The pink mole cricket indeed lacked the ability to dig through the Earth. Suddenly encountering a large rock ahead obstructing its excavation, the next moment it found itself grabbed by a dirty, large hand.

“Ha ha ha, caught you!”

Climbing out of the waist-deep pit, Fang Yizhi laughed heartily. The anger he felt just now was now replaced with a sense of satisfaction! The anxiety and despair of struggling in the depths of the abyss had long been cast aside.

“Do you know ‘Three Cuts, Six Holes’? Those who lack integrity should face such consequences!”

Fang Yizhi used a thin vine to securely bind the pink mole cricket, then removed a few poisonous thorns and inserted them into the round belly of the mole cricket.

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

With each prick, the pink mole cricket let out a pitiful cry, its big eyes brimming with tears.

“You deceitful creature! If it weren’t for you saving me once, you’d be done for today!”

Venting his anger, Fang Yizhi then hung the pink mole cricket from a tree, pointing at its head threateningly, “Try another sneak attack, and I’ll squash you!”

With three poisonous thorns embedded in its belly, causing excruciating pain, the pink mole cricket, aside from shedding tears, dared not entertain any ill intentions. It remained stiff, emitting faint chirps, its big, wet eyes pleading for mercy.

Fang Yizhi’s fierce expression slowly softened, but he coldly stated, “Next time I see you, I will definitely kill you!”

He prodded the soft, round belly of the pink mole cricket with his sharp nails before turning away and disappearing into the thick fog.

“Chirp?” The pink mole cricket tentatively chirped.

Amidst the dense fog, a few trees stood vaguely visible, yet the towering figure never reappeared. Only after ensuring the enemy insect had truly departed did the pink mole cricket wave its saw-like forelimbs, laboriously cutting through the vine.

A lump of flesh fell to the ground, spinning around dizzily before regaining composure, removing the poisonous thorns while emitting angry chirps.

The next time it encountered that strange big bug, it vowed to poison it to death!

The round-bellied mole cricket slowly crawled to the edge of the sandy area, drooling at the sight of the nearby black giant tree. It wanted to transform into a moth and fly over to feast, but after much effort, it remained in its mole cricket form.

It seemed only by consuming live prey could it change into their forms. If it devoured all the moths on the tree, it would surely surpass the strange big bug in size! Then, it could squish the bug with a single stomp!

Despite drooling profusely, the pink mole cricket remained motionless. It had dared to throw stones at the tree earlier because the big bug was still present, allowing it to cling to the bug’s head when it tried to escape.

However, now that the big bug had left, the pink mole cricket was certain it couldn’t outrun the swarm of moths. If it led the moths to the abyss, it would end up like the old bug with half its body sucked into a pile of sand.

The consequences would be too severe—it couldn’t afford to go down that path! Silently shaking its head, the pink mole cricket retreated.

Having aimlessly crawled through the forest for an unknown duration, the pink mole cricket suddenly experienced a peculiar sensation—a calling from the emptiness.

Following this invisible thread, it moved cautiously, stopping intermittently, sniffing around until it arrived at a cave. The cave was filled with dry bones and partially decomposed bodies, emitting a foul stench.

Feeling the calling intensify, the pink mole cricket burrowed into the earth, stealthily entering the cave, gently scraping away the topsoil above to reveal a single large eye peering out.

A familiar creature lay crouched on a nearby rock, its hard shell emitting a faint red glow. It was the carrion beetle that had gnawed on a piece of its flesh!

The pink mole cricket suddenly realized the truth, its eyes blazing with fury.

The carrion beetle seemed to sense something too, its dark beady eyes darting around, emitting a squeaking sound.

Muscles tensed all over its body, the pink mole cricket prepared to charge out and take down the carrion beetle. Yet, the next moment, it stood frozen in place.

At the summoning of the massive carrion beetle, a swarm of smaller carrion beetles emerged from the white, bone-dry skeletons and decaying corpses, emitting frenzied cries. Crawling up the rock surface in a dense mass, they brought with them a pungent stench. The rough surface of the rock was engulfed by their smooth carapaces, radiating an eerie glow.

The pink mole cricket remained frozen in the soil, holding its breath.

The gigantic carrion beetle, stepping on the countless smaller carrion beetles, circled on the rock, its sinister eyes scanning around. Its body, once pierced by bullets, had now healed, leaving a circular scar.

Since then, this carrion beetle had learned a lesson—engaging in solitary combat was the most foolish hunting method for it. Only by mobilizing a group could it reap the greatest benefits.

So, it sought out several females, mating wildly with them, utilizing the corpse tide for sustenance, swiftly establishing its own kingdom within a few short hours. It would continue to proliferate until this vast colony dominated the entire forest, perhaps even the world!

A cold gleam emanated from its dark bean-like eyes as the ambitious carrion beetle sensed the approach of its archenemy.

Are you here to meet your demise?

The triumphant squeaks echoed in the cave as the carrion beetle descended from the rock, heading towards where the pink mole cricket was hiding. Its descendants followed suit, covering the land like a tide.

The pink mole cricket, alarmed, turned and burrowed into the mud.

The carrion beetle was adept at digging tunnels too.

With a series of sharp squeaks, at the command of the great carrion beetle, thousands of carrion beetles eagerly burrowed into the ground, relentlessly pursuing the pink mole cricket.