Ambush

This native creature's color was remarkably similar to the stone on the cliff face. It had been hiding in a crevice, motionless, like a dead object. Rowan's attention had been entirely focused on the green fields below, and he hadn't noticed at all that the rock-like object was actually alive.

However, his field of vision was quite wide. Although the native creature was hidden very close to him, Rowan still reacted the moment it launched itself.

His eyes had been continuously evolving; not only had his clear field of vision increased from twenty meters to thirty meters, but the refresh rate of his dynamic vision had also soared to a higher level.

In an instant, the figure pouncing toward him was clearly imprinted in his sight. It was an animal shaped like a spider, massive in size—actually several times larger than Rowan was at this moment.

Its body was like a fortress, divided into two sections: a cephalothorax and a rounded abdomen, both covered in dense fuzz. On its head were eight black, eyeball-like eyes arranged in three rows: four small eyes in the front row, two large eyes in the middle, and two more small eyes in the back.

A pair of chelicerae grew near its mouth, currently raised to reveal the sharp fangs they had been concealing.

It had eight thick, multi-jointed walking legs that looked incredibly flexible, also covered in fuzz and small spines, with tiny claws at the tips.

At this moment, it was stretching out its eight legs, leaping up like a giant net descending from the sky, intending to use its size advantage to envelop Rowan.

Rowan had originally thought his own size was quite immense; back in the desert above, he had treated ordinary Worker Ants like fodder thanks to his size advantage. He hadn't expected that the very first creature he encountered in this new environment would crush him in terms of sheer scale.

He didn't want to know the consequences of being caught in that giant net, nor did he want to test if his armor could withstand those sharp fangs. Moreover, his current position was quite awkward; his entire body was half-hanging off the cliff, making it impossible for him to perform any fancy evasive maneuvers.

Since he wasn't far from the ground, Rowan simply let go of his grip, intending to jump directly from the cliff to the ground below, which would also allow him to dodge this round of attacks.

Who would have thought that the moment Rowan detached from the cliff, the spider would already be upon him, one of its legs flashing out like lightning toward the falling Rowan.

Rowan reacted quickly, thrusting his thick Digging Leg in front of him to block.

The fuzz on that leg stood on end, revealing itself to be composed of fine, sharp barbs. The moment the leg touched Rowan, it stuck to his Digging Leg, hooked him, and pulled him back—it clearly had extensive experience in dealing with prey trying to jump off the cliff.

Immediately after, a pair of fangs closed in.

"Damn it!" Rowan cursed in terror. He had been careless; every one of these creatures had its own signature survival skill, and his reaction had been anticipated all along.

Those hairs looked fine and fragile, as if they would break with a single pull, but in reality, they were incredibly sturdy. Although Rowan struggled with all his might, he still couldn't break free from their grip.

The sharp fangs bit into his Digging Leg. After holding out for a moment against the fangs, the thick armor of the Digging Leg began to crack under the pressure.

Then, the tips of the fangs pierced through the cracks and into the muscle inside, and a numbing sensation surged into Rowan's heart.

Damn it! Rowan felt a mix of shock and rage; this thing was already so overpowered, and it even used poison!

The situation was dire; if this stalemate continued, he wouldn't survive!

In this critical moment, Rowan's eyes turned red. He used all his strength to bring his own mandibles to the joint of the Digging Leg and bit down hard, severing it.

The moment the Digging Leg detached from his body, the spider recoiled, and Rowan took the opportunity to break free from its control. He seized this fleeting moment, exerting force with all six of his remaining limbs and activating his newly acquired ability: Catapult Start.

His speed instantly broke through to the limit, and a black shadow was seen ejecting from the cliff crevice, crashing onto the ground below.

The spider poked its body out. Although it had plenty of eyes—eight in total—it appeared to be quite nearsighted. Rowan, having already fallen to the ground, was now out of its field of vision.

At least it wasn't a total loss; the spider retreated back into the crevice, still biting the severed Digging Leg. A moment later, the area returned to its previous state, with not a hint of movement.

Rowan tumbled into the grass. He frantically pushed the grass blades aside and, the moment he touched the soil, he stuck his rear end up and began digging rapidly. Having lost one Digging Leg, his digging speed was somewhat slower.

But he couldn't worry about that now; only deep underground could provide him with a sense of security.

However, the wound was still tingling, and the muscle inside had begun to show signs of melting. The toxicity was truly quite potent.

"Damn, that thing really has no sense of honor—not only does it use poison, but it's highly toxic!"

He strained his head to bite off the remainder of the severed limb at the root, then rubbed his mandibles against the dirt to prevent any poison from entering his mouth. If the poison got into his system, he couldn't exactly bite his own head off to stop the spread, so it was better to take precautions.

He dug downward for who knows how long. His antennae and sensory hairs probed diligently, but no living creatures were detected nearby. Rowan ate a few mouthfuls of dirt indiscriminately; he never expected to encounter an emergency situation where he had to eat dirt so soon.

The soil was plentiful and filling. Rowan was soon full, and his consciousness slowly drifted into a deep sleep to begin repairing his injuries. This time, the damage—missing an arm and a leg—was severe, and he estimated it would take some time to recover.

After an unknown amount of time, Rowan woke up. He checked his body; he hadn't formed a cocoon this time, but a new Digging Leg had already grown out.

However, this new Digging Leg was several sizes smaller than the other one. He stood there holding one large and one small Digging Leg; not only did he look ridiculous, but it also felt incredibly awkward.

"This is going to drive my OCD crazy," Rowan felt a bit stifled.

But he believed that with his genes, as long as he had sufficient nutrition, this small Digging Leg should soon grow to its normal state.

Feeling hunger in his abdomen, he began to climb upward. He wanted to eat as little of this dirt as possible; the energy conversion rate was very low. This bout of dirt-eating had given him his first experience of taking a "big dump" since becoming an insect. It let him know he possessed that function, but his digestive system had been so efficient before that all food had been completely digested.

The vegetation here was very dense. Near the surface, the ground was filled with all sorts of tangled grass roots. Rowan bit into a few to suck out some sap, replenishing his fluids.

Just as he carefully poked his head out of the soil, a bug on the grass blade above "whooshed" away into the distance. Although its movements were extremely fast, Rowan still clearly captured its appearance.

"That was a grasshopper, right?" The bug was an oily green color, somewhat like a locust, with exceptionally developed hind legs—clearly a master jumper—but it lacked the wings of a locust.

Its back was also covered with a layer of armor, but when it jumped, it could split from the middle to the sides, serving to help maintain its balance.