Laws of the Insect Hive - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: God-Sent Food

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

The fourth day’s downpour was less intense than the third day’s, but the rain was still heavy.

The soybean-sized raindrops could even cause slight pain when they landed on human skin. Thus, when System faced those raindrops, he felt like a fist was beating his body repeatedly.

While only half of System’s body peeked out of the gap between dead leaves, he was nearly swept away by the fierce rain. Luckily, the spurs on his limbs were strong enough to hold him.

The left half of System’s body was swept away by the rain, but the spurs on his right limbs clung to the wet bark firmly and flipped at an incredible angle to the lower end of the branch.

There was no danger at all!

If his limbs had not clung to the bark just now, he would have fallen into the rain-formed lake.

System hung upside down beneath the branch, and the rain’s impact was reduced significantly. Although rainwater would be running past his body from the top of the branch, it was easier for System to move slowly around the back of the branches.

System’s [Information Entry] passively recorded a lot of information, and he could recall his experiences in this world as if he was watching a video.

In System’s database, there was a path. If he walked along the branch, System would find several tender leaves of newly grown pine needles that could be eaten even when he was hidden.

System did not know if his mandibles could chew the tender pine needles, but he had no other choice other than that.

If his mandibles could not chew them, he would have to jump into the lake where the current converged and beg for a glimmer of life.

…

Against the pounding rain, System devoured the fresh pine needles, as his mandibles were strong enough to chew on the plant’s tender leaves.

The pine needles had a slightly sweet and bitter taste, which had a growth effect to his body. However, they were also somewhat toxic. Perhaps this toxicity was the reason this tree made System feel uncomfortable.

The pine needles’ toxicity slowed down System’s body functions. System felt as if he was drunk, and there was a slightly painful sensation coming from his abdomen.

However, the pine needles’ toxicity was not strong and not as disturbing as the feeling of hunger. After feeling the toxic effects for a moment, System began to swallow the young leaves.

When faced with a life or death crisis, not to mention the nutritious meat, even this kind of toxic food was a treat to him.

Due to the impact of the rain, it was very inconvenient for System to eat. Several hours had passed since he had finished eating a dozen or so fresh pine needles.

The remaining relatively mature pine needles were beyond the reach of System’s mandibles, so he began to return to his lair of dead leaves.

As if by some divine favor, the rain subsided as System was returning to his lair. He was able to withstand the rain’s impact and crawl back to branch’s front before hiding in his lair.

Suddenly, just as System ducked back under the dead leaves, the rain became heavier again.

Since then, the rain would become stronger or weaker from time to time, while at the same time, there would be occasional roars of thunder and lightning, which was somewhat similar to thunderstorms. Even though the rain was not heavy, it had never completely stopped.

On the fifth night, the fierce rain suddenly stopped. The dark clouds in the dark sky quickly disappeared, and System saw the moonlight that pierced through the woods in the gaps of the dead leaves.

The rain finally stopped, and there was no breeze in the entire forest. There was no other sound in the woods except for the sound of water constantly dripping down from the leaves.

System was finally able to crawl out of his lair again.

The water beneath the tree was shimmering with the constant dripping water and the starlight in the sky.

Two days of rainfall had caused the water level to rise further. The puddles accumulated from the rain were only about half a meter from the branch where System was.

The rainwater in the forest had reached one meter, and as far as System’s eyes could see, only the tops of some tall herbaceous plants stood above the water level.

If the rain continued for a few more days, System’s lair would also be flooded, but before that, he would first die due to hunger and coldness.

Five consecutive days of rainfall caused the forest’s temperature to drop, and it got even colder after the heavy rain stopped.

Due to the stiffness of his body, coupled with exhaustion, System crawled slowly over the moist branch with the spurs on his limbs.

Fortunately, as a grasshopper, System could eat many types of food; even the toxic spine needles could help him to replenish his energy. He might have starved to death in the middle of this downpour if he had been reborn as a carnivorous mantis.

…

The rainwater in the forest receded very slowly, only about ten centimeters till the early morning. It was probably going to take several days for the rainwater in this area to recede completely.

After a night of feeding, System had restored much of his physical strength. However, he was slightly dizzy, and a tingling sensation came from his abdomen because of the pine needles’ toxicity.

After a night, there was no longer water dripping from the leaves. The soggy bark became a little damp, and System, who had recovered, began to jump and move around.

The post-rain dawn was very quiet, and apart from the occasional sound of frogs in the distance, System did not see any active creature.

Soon, the sky brightened, and System spotted many signs of surviving lives as the calm water rippled from time to time.

System saw many black shadows appearing underwater, which were similar to tadpoles. He also saw many grayish-white things slightly smaller than the black shadows, which were possibly the larvae of some kind of insect or other aquatic creature.

System jumped back and forth through the branches of the woods. He discovered that the water level in some places was shallow because of the different terrain in the forest. Maybe some of the higher terrains in this vast forest were not flooded at all.

It did not take long for System, who had restored his energy, to find a vine plant wrapped around a tree and jump on it.

Compared to the leaves on the trees, System’s body clearly preferred patches of grass, and the vine plants, though inferior to grasses, were still much stronger than the leaves.

This vine was delicious, and its leaves were soft with a faint peachy aroma. System gulped down the leaves.

As System was swallowing, he noticed that the water surface beneath him rippled, and a five-centimeter-sized cyan-brown insect with six limbs crawled up the vine from underwater.

This insect’s abdomen was slender, and its six-strong limbs were all on its front half of the body, while its body was covered with a translucent shell.

After crawling along the vine for ten centimeters, it clung to the vine and stopped moving. It looked like it had entered the insect’s unique state of dormancy.

Although System did not find mandibles in the insect’s mouth, the shell covering its whole body made it look strong. Hence, System did not have any thoughts of fighting with it and quietly kept eating the vine’s leaves.

After over ten minutes, System suddenly heard a strange sound. That cyan-brown insect made a sound similar to the shattering of a shell. It was as if something was coming out of its body.

“An insect that is molting!”

System’s face betrayed his greed—the molting insect was a god-sent delicacy!