Fishing for Bugs (Part 1)

Three days later, inside the cave.

"Are you ready?" Er Dongsheng asked with a smile as he watched the little Succubus constantly fiddling with her small basket.

"Mhm, Lulu is ready!" The little one tightened the basket on her back and answered spiritedly!

Three days had passed since that soul-stirring battle, and both Er Dongsheng and Little Lulu had fully recovered from their injuries.

After staying in the cave for three days, Er Dongsheng felt like his bones were about to go soft from idleness. He decided to go out for a walk. There were no entertainment activities in the Abyss; if he did not find something to do for himself, he figured he would go mad soon enough.

But unexpectedly, little Lulu insisted on coming along. He had not wanted to agree, but under Lulu's tearful offensive, Er Dongsheng immediately surrendered.

"Fine, then let's go out. With my current abilities, what living creature nearby could possibly hurt her?"

True enough, an Abyss Demon’s aura was no joke. There probably were not many blind fools in this forest who would dare provoke him!

He spent a little more time making the little Succubus a basket like his own, only smaller and more exquisite. After advancing into a demon, making such things took far less effort. Before his claws, now several times stronger, and his far greater strength, even the tough vines that had once made Er Dongsheng's claws ache could only kneel and beg for mercy!

The dainty little basket had the little one completely smitten. She kept putting her little belongings inside, then taking them back out again, never tiring of it.

The little one did not own much: a few pretty beast bones, strangely shaped little stones, and several wooden toys Er Dongsheng had casually made for her. They were ordinary things, not treasures, yet they were the little Succubus's most cherished treasures. Usually, Er Dongsheng was not even allowed to touch them!

"Then, we're off!" Er Dongsheng waved a large hand. Beaming from ear to ear, the little Succubus grabbed his huge claw. Hand in hand, one large and one small figure set off!

Their goal was to gather some fresh fruits and plants, and bring back some special meat while they were at it!

"Mm, this one's good. It tastes good. System, analyze its composition and record it!"

Automatically named Blueberry Fruit. Contains trace amounts of active substances; aids digestion, promotes blood circulation, and accelerates injury recovery!

"Mm, not bad. Here, little girl, try this." Er Dongsheng handed the Abyss fruit the system had named Blueberry Fruit to the little girl, then picked some more from the tree to take back and eat. This stuff was good—sweet and sour, very appetizing.

"This one—ptui, ptui! Why is it so bitter?"

Warning: trace toxins detected invading. System beginning expulsion. Expulsion complete!

"Damn, this fruit contains toxins?" Er Dongsheng hurriedly threw away the blood-red fruit still in his hand, opened the little wooden cup he carried with him, gulped down a mouthful of water, then quickly spat it out. In just that short time, his tongue had gone slightly numb. Who would have thought that such a good-looking fruit carried such potent toxins? What a scam!

"Hurry up and record it. Warn me ahead of time if I run into it again!"

Perhaps you had already noticed: Er Dongsheng had discovered another extremely powerful ability of the Abyss System. It could analyze and record any object, organize the information, and store it in its database.

This function could be called incredibly powerful. With it, he would no longer need to worry when facing the Abyss's countless plants and animals. He would not have to fear accidentally eating the wrong thing and meeting God without ever knowing why!

It could be said that with this function, Er Dongsheng's food options had greatly broadened. Even during the harshest cold season, he was confident he could get through safely!

However, the Abyss System's main function, Game Space, still left him utterly baffled despite how impressive it sounded. The Abyss System should have known something about it, but this lousy system now told him that the system itself and the Abyss Heavenly Dao Will had entered into a private illicit affair, one willing lover and one willing beloved. Part of the Abyss System's functions had begun to change—no, evolve—and Game Space had changed along with that evolution, so it was temporarily closed!

When Er Dongsheng heard that explanation, his nose nearly twisted crooked with rage. The treasure he had worked so hard to obtain was just gone? Swallowed by the Abyss System? He remembered that he had only told it to analyze it! It analyzed and analyzed until it analyzed the thing out of existence?

Could you be any more of a scam?

Forget that lousy system. Just mentioning it filled Er Dongsheng with anger. Let's turn our attention back to the brother and sister.

They walked and stopped along the way, tasting a bite here and a bite there. They picked a few of the nontoxic ones and immediately threw away the poisonous ones. Er Dongsheng now felt that the system's analysis function was pretty damn screwy—it had to personally taste something before it could analyze it...

"Can't you see my brother's tongue has gone numb? Luckily my body's resistance is high enough, or this lousy system would've tortured me to death!" he muttered, turning back to look at the little one, who was happily eating with red and blue fruit juice all over her face. When the little Succubus saw him turn around, she looked at him expectantly, thinking there was another new fruit to eat.

In the Abyss, not everyone could so recklessly eat all kinds of different fruits! The little Succubus was truly happy right now.

"Ah, forget it. I'll just keep suffering through my hard life!"

They wandered about like that, walking and stopping, sometimes even playing with the little Succubus for a while. Before they knew it, around three hours had passed. At last, they reached their destination: a wind-sheltered mountain hollow! There was a large stretch of sand here.

This was the location of their target, the hiding place of the Abyss Insect Beast!

The Abyss Insect Beast was a small insect-like monster, about as long as an adult human's index finger from Er Dongsheng's previous life—roughly ten centimeters! These bugs had no offensive power at all, and their defense was pitifully weak. They fed on Abyss soil and rotting humus leaves, much like earthworms from his previous life. But they tasted utterly delicious. How did that saying go again?

Tastes like chicken, crunchy as a crackle—yes, just like that. Whether roasted or eaten raw, the flavor would leave you longing for more! In Er Dongsheng's memories, this was an ingredient second only to the Abyss Tree Heart.

But although they were good things, and possessed considerable life essence that was excellent for healing external injuries, they were even harder to catch. It was not that they fled quickly; rather, Abyss Insect Beasts usually hid deep beneath the sand and rarely came to the surface. At the slightest rustle of wind or grass, they would burrow underground like their lives depended on it. Trying to catch one was difficult—harder than ascending to the blue sky!

"This won't stump me! I caught so many fish in my last life—could I really fail to handle a tiny little bug like you in this one?"

With that, Er Dongsheng grinned wickedly and took something from the basket on his back. He removed the leaves wrapped around it, revealing a chunk of rotten meat. Immediately...

"Mhm, it stinks! It stinks!" The little one, who had been about to come over and see what her brother was doing, leapt far away in an instant. Even her tail drooped down; it seemed the smell was simply unbearable.

...Speechless...

"Uh, this is way too intense. It's almost as bad as an old lady's thirty-year foot-binding cloth from ancient times." He hurriedly wrapped the leaves back around it, and the air immediately became fresh again.

Shaking his head, dizzy from the stench, Er Dongsheng began calling the little Succubus over to make preparations.

Fishing—uh, no, bug fishing—had begun...