Exploration

Efiash, the Infinite Evolution Bug!

When energy is abundant, they can continuously adapt to various harsh environments through rapid evolution to ensure their survival.

But if the bug itself is depressed and suicidal all day, does this mentality threaten its survival? Is Rowan's current optimistic mindset related to his evolutionary ability?

Rowan does not know, nor does he want to dwell on it. Regardless, in a short amount of time, he has accepted his current identity quite naturally.

Furthermore, he has already begun making efforts to live better.

For instance, right now, after eating and drinking his fill, Rowan does not return the way he came, but instead chooses to build a nest deeper underground.

With the help of his new Rake Appendage, he can dig a burrow in the deeper soil layers. The soil here is denser and provides firmer support, reducing the risk of a cave-in.

In half a day's work, he has excavated a room the size of a ping-pong ball. Compared to his body, which is not even the size of a fingernail, this room is quite spacious. He has lined the floor with dry sand and gravel to prevent the damp ground from negatively affecting his joints, though he isn't sure if bugs can even get arthritis.

Once the room was set up, he dug multiple tunnels connecting to it—some for normal entry and exit, and several for escape. The tunnels are interconnected, and the entrances are blocked with soil; if any creature were to intrude, it would be difficult for them to find the tunnel openings at a glance.

In addition, he specifically dug a waste disposal area, far from his room and connected by a long tunnel, with some soft sand left inside to prevent any potential odors from drifting back.

Though, since he "was born," he hasn't actually excreted anything yet.

Lying in his comfortable room, Rowan begins to contemplate his bug life.

Based on the current situation, he does indeed possess some magical evolutionary ability, but the mechanism of this evolution and the extent of its capabilities remain unclear to him.

After all, the time has been too short; he has only achieved one significant evolution, and whether there are other latent evolutions remains unknown.

It seems more time and more data are needed to analyze anything further.

Yet he does not know how much time he has. With his meager knowledge of entomology, he only knows that bugs generally do not have long lifespans.

Although he is a species with a name that sounds incredibly badass, he didn't come with an instruction manual, so he isn't sure how long he can actually live.

He then thinks that this is no longer his homeland, and he is not a species from back there; whether the knowledge from his home applies here is still unknown.

After thinking for a long time, he returns to the starting point: lacking sufficient information, all his thinking is just wishful speculation.

However, he recalls his last trip to the surface. Although he didn't have a thermometer to measure accurately, it was definitely below freezing. He stayed outside for quite a while and even drank a lot of cold liquid; aside from feeling a bit uncomfortable at the time, he woke up from a nap feeling as lively as ever, with no ill effects.

If a bug from his homeland had been frozen like that, it would at least be half-paralyzed. From this perspective, his situation truly cannot be measured by the knowledge from back there, especially since he was only a dabbler who only remembered half-baked, pseudo-scientific facts.

In a short while, the problem is mulled over, and Rowan manages to endure a bit more time through pure imagination.

In his past life, he was a "no-smartphone-no-life" type of person who would pass time quickly by reading books or scrolling through short videos. Now, lacking these entertainment activities, he realizes how unbearable time can be; he must find something to do as soon as possible.

Action follows thought. After a moment of contemplation, Rowan decides to go eat first. After all, he did quite a bit of work and moved into a new home, so he must have a good meal to celebrate.

With the reluctant cooperation of the tool-bugs, Rowan quickly eats and drinks his fill, only to fall back into boredom.

Not wanting to rest just yet, he plans to dig along this root to see where it leads. After all, he didn't see any sign of plants during his first two trips to the surface, though that might have had something to do with his severe nearsightedness.

But the curiosity about what plants in the desert of this strange planet look like has successfully piqued his interest.

Digging along the root, he discovers many more brothers and sisters of the White Grub along the way; it seems they are quite a large family. Rowan feels no envy—no matter how many there are, they are just a bunch of idiots, tool-bugs.

The route shows a slow upward trend. Rowan doesn't know how long he has been digging, but the end of this root turns out to be a much thicker one; the previous one was merely a sub-root.

As Rowan continues forward, the surrounding rootlets gradually increase in number. Numerous massive roots branch out from here, extending into unknown territories.

The surrounding temperature gradually rises, and slowly, some very fine rootlets appear, their shapes completely different from the previous large roots.

Continuing upward, the surroundings become increasingly bright; it seems it is daytime above. Having experienced one day and night, Rowan can already distinguish the sky outside from a certain distance underground.

He slows down his digging speed, his body hair standing on end, sensing his surroundings vigilantly. Underground, his digging speed is a great advantage, but it is different on the surface. If an opponent the size of a fingernail were to appear, he doubts he could win.

Near Rowan's new home, at this distance from the surface, he would have already reached the sand and gravel layer. But perhaps because of the numerous roots here, it remains a soil layer, with no signs of sand or gravel.

Likewise, Rowan discovers new dangers in this soil layer at this height. Through vibrations, he can feel many hollow cavities and tunnels around him, much like the ones he set up in his new home, only more complex, with the vibrations and sounds of unidentified creatures moving inside.

He carefully avoids these tunnels and slowly digs upward. Finally, after passing through a thin layer of sand and gravel, he reaches the surface.

It is indeed daytime outside. Beside him is a cluster of huge weeds, and his brothers and sisters are distributed around it, most of the leaves already withered and yellow. It seems those fine rootlets belong to these weeds.

In the distance stands a towering giant tree. Rowan makes a rough calculation: it would probably take a hundred of him to wrap around the trunk.

Coming out for a trip has indeed yielded some new discoveries. First, he finds that he is not a nocturnal bug; he can see five or six meters away in the daytime. It seems that his constant wishing for better eyesight has worked; his vision has indeed improved quite a bit.

But this is still far from enough. For instance, he can only see a very small part of that giant tree. The branches reaching upward are blurry; he cannot see how high it is, what kind of leaves it has, whether it is blooming, or if it bears fruit. It seems his vision needs to continue evolving.

Secondly, he discovers that he is not as hot as he was last time. He doesn't know if his heat tolerance has increased or if it is because of the shade from the trees. The specifics require more detailed comparative observation. Rowan makes a mental note to find a place without shade later to do a comparison.

Finally, he discovers the owners of the underground tunnels. Several ant-like creatures appear in the gaps between the weeds. They are generally earthy yellow, with round heads, long antennae, six slender limbs, and two large, disproportionate, hook-shaped mandibles that are half the size of their bodies—quite eye-catching.

They surround Rowan, their attitude not appearing very friendly. Using the small hole at his rear, Rowan guesses that they are not exactly welcoming him.