Laws of the Insect Hive

Chapter 22: Queen (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

System rejected the grasshopper queen’s proposal with his lifespan as the reason.

Although the queen could not understand System, she accepted his point of view.

For the whole afternoon, System communicated with the female grasshopper. He asked her some of her experiences and told her of some things that had happened after he had awoken.

When nighttime was near, the huge female grasshopper flew away, as she was determined to explore the vast world.

In the afternoon that System had interacted with the grasshopper queen, he had obtained plenty of information, including the third molting’s key point.

Although the grasshopper queen was unaware of many words or couldn’t pronounce them, making communication very arduous, System still learned that her lifespan had indeed increased after the third molting.

She had also mentioned that after the leaves on the trees fell and grew back again thrice, she would die, meaning she still had three years to live.

However, regarding just how she was able to successfully molt three times in one summer, even she herself was not very clear.

She rarely ate meat like System and basically only fed on plants.

System speculated that the grasshopper queen must have eaten some extraordinary plant, just like that magical lizard meat. Thus, it had caused the grasshopper queen’s body to grow greatly and undergo a special transformation.

It was a pity that the area the grasshopper queen had grown up in was very far from there. He would need about a month’s time to fly there, so System could only give up.

Since it took too long and flying in the air was undoubtedly a perilous action, System was better off snatching food from the ants as it was safer.

When the sun was about to set and shortly before the grasshopper queen left, System asked the question that was on his mind.

The grasshopper queen knew she had a lifespan of three years and also knew that System’s lifespan was very short. Hence, why would she choose to bring System along to travel for two months and then mate with him?

Even if she had molted thrice, female grasshoppers would still die after laying eggs.

To that question, the grasshopper queen’s answer was simple and direct.

“Like, intelligent, you.”

The grasshopper queen’s confession was straightforward, which caught System off guard. Also, her confession made System’s human soul feel very awkward.

However, his blood kept on churning as if his body had secreted some special hormone that made him feel emotions like happiness and excitement.

The good thing was System’s reasoning still suppressed the body’s instincts, as compared to producing offspring, he still wanted to live longer.

The grasshopper queen still decided to leave at nighttime and sent one last message to System before her departure.

“I, return, find you.”

…

“You’ll come back to find me?”

System gazed at the direction where the grasshopper queen flew and subconsciously used telepathy. However, he realized that because the grasshopper queen had left, the connection between them had already been cut off.

Although he had the awkward insect instinct of wanting to mate, meeting the grasshopper queen was still something that gladdened System.

At least, in this world, there was someone of the same kind that could communicate with him, and he would not be that lonely anymore.

Also, through the grasshopper queen, he had learned that the third molting could indeed increase his lifespan. Maybe three years was still a short time, but it was already tens of times longer than two months.

He shook his head, which felt a little dizzy from not resting for an entire day. System’s mind was fatigued now, so he needed to let his brain rest for a while.

After jumping a few times, System secreted a little [Corrosive Slime] near the tree hole before returning to his lair to rest.

As usual, before System entered sleeping mode, he would sum up everything that had happened in the day and think of his next plan.

Undoubtedly, it was comforting that the third molting could lengthen his lifespan and gave him confidence. As compared to relying on the old Druid, System still believed in himself and his kind more.

Time passed, and the muddy forest gradually dried up. The type of meat that the ants found decreased, while food like grass seeds increased.

Although it would not be a problem for the next few days, afterward, the efficiency of snatching meat from the ants would decrease quite a bit.

System knew that he had to prepare beforehand to search for more food sources and a larger variety of insects.

As long as he survived more than ten days, and his [Molting Growth] was raised to the maximum level, the next steps would be far easier.

After obtaining a third molting chance, there would be no restriction of needing more kinds of food. Thus, System would be able to capture ants to his heart’s content or return to that tree full of pupae to rapidly increase his level.

The rainstorm had revitalized the forest. Not only were insects like mosquitoes increasing, but System had also met a few other insects. Also, the sound of crickets chirping in the night had become louder.

However, hunting those new insects was not much of a help to System as the efficiency was just too low. The number of prey that could be easily caught was minimal, so overeating them would result in the loss of effect for [Molting Growth].

If he wanted to obtain a larger variety of food, System could only continue exploring more areas.

The further one explored, the more opportunities they could obtain.

…

The next day, System patrolled near the ants’ nest as usual and snatched food from the worker ants.

He tried to throw a stone from high above to taunt a 20cm toad but failed. Then System started to explore new areas.

The terrain of different forest areas was similar; there were all kinds of trees, vines, weeds, fallen leaves, and branches that were slightly rotten from being soaked in rainwater.

Due to the damp environment, many mushrooms grew in the forest, and basically, a few would appear every one meter.

System did not dare to try this delicacy that might contain deadly poison. He would only try mushrooms that ants were carrying back to their nest, which had happened a few times these days.

Through the analysis of his [Information Entry] and [Information Reading], System had already identified seven types of edible mushrooms.

The taste of those mushrooms was mostly better than the leaves of plants but not as good as meat. They had a faint yogurt taste and counted as quite the delicacy to eat if there was no meat.

System jumped away from a huge white mushroom and continued exploring.

Soon, he discovered a strange plant in the forest. It had a special organ, like a reddish-brown water bottle. There was also a piece of leaf on top of the bottle as if it was a cover.

If System’s memory of his previous life was correct, that plant should be similar to Nepenthes, a tropical pitcher plant met in rainforests.

The bottle mouth was smooth, and within the bottle was a special digestive juice. Meanwhile, the cover of the bottle could secrete a nice scent to attract insects and also block rainwater.

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It was a typical semi-carnivorous plant.

Due to the rainstorm, the interior of the pitcher plant’s bottle was filled with water, and it was probably impossible for it to capture any unlucky insects.

System tried using his mandibles to bite the bottle and realized that it was abnormally hard. Also, his [Corrosive Slime] did not have much of an effect on that bottle. Probably due to it being a plant that could secrete digestive juice, it had resistance against corrosive liquid.

System tried drinking a mouthful of the liquid in the pitcher plant and realized it could help enhance his [Corrosive Slime]. However, the pitcher plant’s digestive juice had already been diluted by rain, so the effects were minimal.

Just as System was about to leave, his antennae suddenly sensed something strange…