Exploration

Efiash, Infinite Evolution Bug!

When they had plenty of energy, they could keep adapting to all kinds of harsh environments through rapid evolution, ensuring their own survival.

But if a bug was gloomy and suicidal all day, would that mindset threaten its survival? Was Rowan's optimism now related to his ability to evolve?

Rowan didn't know, and he didn't want to dwell on it. In any case, in just a short time, he had naturally accepted his new identity.

And he had already started working to improve his chances of survival.

For example, now that he'd eaten his fill, Rowan didn't return the way he came. Instead, he decided to build a nest deeper underground.

With the help of his new rake-like appendages, he could dig a burrow in the deeper soil. The earth there was more compact and offered firmer support, reducing the danger of a cave-in.

In half a day, he'd dug out a room about the size of a ping-pong ball. Considering his own body was smaller than a fingernail, the room was extremely spacious. He spread a layer of dry sand and gravel across the floor to keep the damp ground from affecting his joints, though he didn't know whether bugs could get arthritis.

Once the room was ready, he dug several passageways connecting to it: one for normal entry and exit, and several for escape. The passages also connected with one another. He blocked their entrances with soil, so if some creature barged in, it would have a hard time finding them.

Besides that, he dug a separate room for relieving himself, far from his living quarters and connected to them by a long passage. He left some soft sand in the passage to prevent any possible odors from drifting back.

Though he hadn't relieved himself once since he was "born."

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

From what he could tell, he did possess some sort of miraculous evolutionary ability. But he didn't yet understand how it worked or what it was capable of.

After all, he'd had so little time, and had undergone only one obvious evolution. Whether he'd experienced any other, subtler changes remained unknown.

It seemed he'd need more time and more data before he could figure anything else out.

But he didn't know how much time he had. With his limited knowledge of entomology, all he knew was that bugs generally didn't live long.

Even if he belonged to a species with an especially impressive-sounding name, he hadn't come with an instruction manual, so he couldn't be sure how long he'd live.

Then he remembered that this wasn't his home, and he wasn't a species from back home. Whether the knowledge from there applied here was still an open question.

After thinking for a long while, he ended up back where he started. Without enough information, thinking any further was just speculation.

Still, when he'd last gone to the surface, he'd noticed that it was definitely below freezing, even though he hadn't had a thermometer to measure it. He'd spent quite a while outside and drunk plenty of cold liquid. Aside from feeling a bit uncomfortable at the time, he'd gone back, slept, and woken up perfectly lively and fine.

If a bug from back home had been chilled like that, it would've been half paralyzed at the very least. So it seemed his situation really couldn't be measured by the knowledge he'd brought with him—especially since he was only an amateur, and most of what he remembered was vague and unreliable.

Once he'd run out of things to think about, Rowan managed to pass a little more time by daydreaming.

In his previous life, he'd been the sort of person who couldn't live without a phone. He'd pass the time quickly by reading books or watching short videos. Without those forms of entertainment now, he'd realized just how slowly time dragged. He'd have to find something to do soon.

Once he'd decided, Rowan thought it over for a moment, then chose to go get something to eat. He'd done plenty of work, after all, and he'd moved into a new home. He deserved a good meal to celebrate.

With the tool bugs' reluctant cooperation, Rowan soon ate his fill. Then he found himself bored again.

Not ready to rest yet, he decided to dig upward along the root and see where it led. After all, he hadn't seen any plants on the surface during his first two trips, though his severe nearsightedness might have had something to do with that.

But the plants of this unfamiliar planet's desert had aroused his curiosity.

As he dug along the root, he came across more of White Grub's siblings. It looked like they belonged to a big family. Rowan didn't envy them. No matter how many there were, they were still a bunch of foolish tool bugs.

The route gradually sloped upward. Rowan had no idea how long he'd been digging when the root ended at an even thicker one. The root he'd followed before had only been a side branch.

As Rowan continued onward, more and more rootlets appeared around him. Countless enormous roots branched off from there and stretched into unknown regions.

The temperature around him gradually rose, and some very fine rootlets began to appear. They looked completely different from the larger roots he'd seen before.

As he continued upward, the surroundings grew brighter and brighter. It seemed to be daytime above. After experiencing one full day-and-night cycle, Rowan could now tell what time it was outside when he was underground at a certain depth.

He slowed his digging, raised the hairs all over his body, and cautiously sensed his surroundings. Underground, his digging speed gave him a considerable advantage, but it would be different on the surface. He doubted he could beat even an opponent the size of a fingernail.

Back near Rowan's new home, the soil at this depth had already given way to a layer of sand and gravel. But perhaps because there were so many roots here, the earth was still soil, with no sign of turning sandy.

At the same depth, Rowan also found new dangers in the soil. From the vibrations, he could tell there were many hollow tunnels around him, just like the passages he'd built at home, only far more complex. Inside them, he heard and felt the movements of unknown creatures.

He carefully avoided the tunnels and slowly dug upward. At last, after passing through a shallow layer of sand and gravel, he reached the surface.

It was indeed daytime outside. Beside him stood a clump of enormous weeds, with more of their kin scattered around. Most of their leaves had already turned yellow. It seemed those tiny rootlets belonged to the weeds.

Farther away stood a towering giant tree. Rowan estimated that it would take more than a hundred of him to wrap his arms around its trunk.

The trip outside had indeed brought some new discoveries. First, he realized that he wasn't nocturnal. Even during the day, he could see five or six meters ahead. It seemed his constant reminders to himself not to become nearsighted had worked, and his vision had improved quite a bit.

But it still wasn't nearly good enough. Take that giant tree, for example: he could make out only a small part of it. Its branches above were blurry, and he couldn't tell how tall it was, what its leaves looked like, whether it had bloomed, or whether it had borne fruit. It seemed his eyesight still needed to evolve.

Second, he noticed that it wasn't as hot outside as it had been the previous time. He didn't know whether his heat resistance had improved or whether the shade from the trees was responsible. He'd need to make a more detailed comparison. Rowan made a mental note to find a spot without shade and run the comparison again later.

Finally, he discovered who the owners of the underground tunnels were. Several ant-like creatures appeared among the weeds. They were mostly earthy yellow, with round heads, long antennae, and six slender limbs. Most striking of all were their two enormous, hook-shaped mandibles, each nearly half the size of his body. They were completely out of proportion.

They surrounded Rowan, and they didn't seem particularly friendly. Judging by the little hole on his rear end, he guessed they weren't welcoming him.