Scouting Ahead (Lower)

It had been a long time since Rowan had gone on a solo expedition, and he found he actually missed it.

Back then, he had been much weaker and injured, daring only to tunnel through the earth to move forward. Now, he felt his ability to protect himself had improved significantly; even if he ran into the Earth-Yellow Ant army head-on, he could rely on his superior field of vision to escape in advance.

Seeing so many insects in the Mother Nest crying out for food had made him feel somewhat impatient, thinking he should take a few risks to get back as quickly as possible. But once he was out and hit by the cold wind, he calmed down.

Those insects were, at the end of the day, nothing more than mindless tools, and even the Mother Nest itself wasn't irreplaceable. If it truly came to a situation that threatened his life, his own hide was naturally the most important thing; everything else was expendable.

As long as he was alive, those things could be earned back. That Insect Nest was only the result of a month's work; if he had to start over, he already had the experience and wouldn't need long to recover.

Of course, it was best not to abandon it, but he was simply preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Besides, if it were just him, he wouldn't need to worry about food or drink; not to mention he could survive on tree bark and sap. He had also absorbed certain genetic fragments after drinking the body fluid of a Stinky Earthworm last time, which had allowed him to evolve. If it really came down to it, he could even eat dirt, absorbing the minerals and decaying matter within to sustain himself.

However, he wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary; after all, for his human soul, "eating dirt" wasn't exactly a pleasant concept. Still, he could consider adding that gene to the new insects later on, so that if they encountered such special circumstances in the future, the whole swarm could eat dirt.

Having thought things through, his mood lightened, and his previously hurried pace slowed down.

Following the riverbed of the underground stream, he didn't dig tunnels this time, as that was too slow. While he needed to be cautious, there was no need to be overly so.

The surface offered better visibility, allowing him to scout the situation more effectively, and if he encountered an insurmountable obstacle, it wouldn't be too late to dig then.

The light source in the sky slowly rose, but the land ravaged by the Earth-Yellow Ants remained deathly silent; even the insect chirps that had once been present had vanished.

He crawled for he didn't know how long, but the land remained desolate and devoid of life; even the Stinky Earthworms he had once found unpalatable were nowhere to be seen. Rowan clicked his mandibles in shock—the Earth-Yellow Ant army must have numbered in the millions, otherwise, how could they have caused such widespread destruction?

He encountered a few stray Earth-Yellow Ants along the way and sent them to "have a meeting" in his stomach. With the food supplement, he didn't feel tired at all.

A rumbling sound of water came from ahead, and the humidity in the air increased significantly. As he continued forward, the humidity turned into visible mist, and the sound of water became deafening.

After traveling a short distance further, Rowan discovered the source of it all. The land ahead suddenly dipped, forming a cliff dozens of meters high compared to the ground beneath his feet. The water from the underground river rushed over the cliff face, forming a waterfall that plummeted into a small lake below, kicking up a sky full of mist while creating a massive roar.

Rowan carefully crawled to the edge of the cliff. When he was a human, he had a fear of heights; standing on the fifth floor looking down would make his legs shake. Last time he was swept into the air, everything around him had been pitch black, so he couldn't tell how high he was, and his fear of heights hadn't been triggered.

However, after he poked his head out to look, his fear of heights still didn't trigger; this ailment had miraculously healed after he became an insect.

A fear of heights was, at its core, just a psychological barrier. Perhaps due to the experience of falling from the sky last time, deep down, Rowan no longer believed that a simple fall could kill him, so the barrier had naturally dissolved.

Finding this unexpected surprise, Rowan felt quite happy; after all, it was worth celebrating that one of his weaknesses had been mended.

The scene below was somewhat blurry, as the height of the cliff exceeded the range of Rowan's clear vision. He could only judge by some vague patches of color that there was a lake beneath the waterfall, and around the lake were patches of green.

Those were plants. The area below hadn't been ravaged by the Earth-Yellow Ants and still possessed an intact ecosystem; perhaps this cliff had blocked them, forcing them to change their path.

However, he was now faced with the trouble of how to reach the bottom safely. The cliff beneath his feet was made of stone, and while his Digging Leg was impressive, it likely wouldn't be of much use here. Should he just jump? He wouldn't die from the fall, anyway.

Rowan began to move along the edge of the cliff; even if he were to jump, he couldn't do it where he was. Directly below was the lake, and he had zero experience in underwater combat. If he ran into some aquatic species, he would just be waiting to die.

After crawling for several hundred meters, the color patches below were no longer just gray-blue, and he could clearly see the crowns of tall trees. He was far from the waterfall now, and Rowan noticed the cliff face here was much rougher, unlike the spot he had seen earlier, which had been polished smooth by the water.

He tried to find a path to climb down. His rear six limbs were equipped with sharp hooks; as long as the cliff face wasn't a mirror, he should be able to climb down slowly.

Following a rock crevice that contained some loose stones and moss-like plants, Rowan carefully hooked his claws into the rock wall and began to climb down slowly.

Although his thick shoulder and back armor provided considerable defense, the weight was also staggering. He hadn't noticed it much on flat ground, but now, in a semi-suspended state, the weight was quite apparent.

Fortunately, his claws, while appearing slender and fragile, were actually very sturdy. Combined with his powerful limbs, they held his body firmly against the cliff wall.

As he slowly approached the ground below, Rowan's vision gradually cleared. Perhaps because it was closer to the water source, the ground below was lush and green, with the soil entirely covered in vegetation.

Moreover, the flora here was completely different from that above the cliff. Rowan wasn't a botanist and couldn't distinguish their classifications, but he could tell they were different just by their appearance.

It was much more vibrant here, and likewise, hidden beneath this greenery were more abundant insect species and more diverse genetic fragments.

The chirping of insects he had never heard before drifted from the grass in the distance. Rowan felt a bit excited; he would finally be able to meet new friends, though he wondered if they would be willing to appreciate his Rowan's Combat Technique.

However, just as he was five or six meters from the ground, a native suddenly lunged out from a crevice in the cliff, launching a sneak attack on him.