Chapter 15: The Clumsy Locust Hunter
Editor: Atlas Studios
About the same time as System estimated, as the sun was setting, he managed to eat two pupae and began to return to his dead-leaf lair.
Due to the increase in size, the originally spacious lair was already a bit small for him. It probably would not be able to accommodate him if he went up two levels.
System did not give up foraging for food at night but took a short rest. When the food in his abdomen was almost completely digested, and his body reached the peak of his flexibility, he would start his first hunting activity at night.
After five days of heavy rainfall, there were very scarce creatures for System to hunt.
Most of the insects System could find after the rainstorm were cicadas that liked to chirp, but he had little confidence in killing them as they would fly away at the slightest sign of danger. Also, the activity of these cicadas was very unpredictable. Although they chirped from time to time, it was tough for System to find them.
There were also prey with predictable movements, such as the two spiders that System spotted. One of them was black-brown and 6cm in size, and the other was slightly smaller, about 3cm with yellow-white patterns.
After the heavy rain, these two spiders had rewoven their webs. They would stay in the center of their webs at night, while during the day, they would rest in their makeshift nest in the corners of their webs.
To System, however, the two spiders were more like hunters rather than prey. He felt that he would probably get killed by the spiders' fangs if he challenged them.
After much consideration, System decided on his final target, the chirping cricket, an insect with a fixed nest.
This cricket's nest was located at a narrow tree hole, which System had scouted out two days ago.
Because of that tree hole, the cricket had escaped from the natural disaster brought on by the heavy rain.
System had been just a grasshopper nymph two days ago and had no clear advantage over the male cricket, which was 3 centimeters in size. He could easily fall into the water in the fight, so System did not attack it in his nymph state.
As an adult grasshopper, System's strength had improved, and dealing with that cricket was not a problem.
Unfortunately, System had grown a lot in size and could no longer enter cricket's tree hole. Hence, he had to wait for the cricket to come out to chirp at night and ambush it.
…
When the food in System's stomach was digested, the sky was completely dark.
System made all the necessary preparations, jumped, and landed on a branch near the cricket's nest.
The cricket's nest was near to System's lair, which was only five or six meters away.
[Green Camouflage]!
The patterns and color of System's body slowly changed into that of tree leaves.
Due to the restriction of this derived ability, System could only change into a color similar to green. His size was so out of proportion to this branch that he could be noticed easily.
However, if he chose a more distant branch, System was not confident in launching an attack. Thus, he could only hope that the arrival of the darkness would affect the cricket from noticing him.
Without moving a muscle, he entered into his hibernating state and waited for the cricket to go out and chirp at eight or nine o'clock, like every night.
System was like a viper waiting for its prey to take the bait, silently waiting for the cricket to appear.
Snakes were the most adept lurkers in nature. When food was scarce, they would even wait for their prey for days without eating or drinking.
It could be said that reptiles such as snakes and some insects took the idiom of waiting for the hare to the extreme.
Whether it was the reptilian snakes and crocodiles, or most arthropods such as mantises and katydids, their hunting style was to wait quietly for their prey to enter their attack range before suddenly making a lethal attack.
Compared to these less intelligent hunters, though System was also waiting, he was clearer and more efficient in his goals. He was aware of when and where his prey would appear.
As System expected, when the pale yellow moon was at a slightly more than a 45-degree angle, the cricket crawled out of the tree hole in time and jumped onto a branch next to it.
Apparently, this mate-seeking male cricket did not notice System, who was hiding obliquely above it. The cricket quivered its wings on the branch and started to chirp.
System's strong hind limbs began to accumulate strength, the sinews of his wings were in position, and he kept simulating in his mind the hunting action after he pounced at the cricket.
With a gentle breeze blowing by, System suddenly charged towards the male cricket. His wings flapped and further increased his speed.
System's hunt failed in an instant…
His hunting skills were far too amateur compared to those of his less intelligent predecessors that simply guarded their prey.
The first half of his ambush was perfect, and perhaps he would have succeeded if his target was a mantis or katydid. Unfortunately, as a green-tailed grasshopper, which was generally small, his bloodline did not provide him with a hunting instinct.
System could only make hunting plans according to his own understanding. His plan was simple. He would control the cricket with his four forelimbs and then chew its head off with his mandibles.
There was actually nothing wrong with his plan, but his moves were bad, and he was not very lucky.
Although his sudden attack was quick and the cricket was unable to react in time, System's outstretched forelegs only pressed against the cricket's smooth wings.
With the sudden trembling of its wings, the spurs on System's forelegs failed to exert strength. Also, he landed unsteadily this time, so the cricket escaped from System like a mudfish.
…
System made a quick decision the moment the cricket broke free from him. He immediately got up and moved backward, blocking the entrance of the cricket's tree hole.
There were still a few centimeters of water on the forest ground, and the cricket couldn't escape to the water surface. The only safe place was its tree hole.
However, after System swiftly blocked the hole, he suddenly noticed that the cricket had disappeared.
Due to his [Information Reading], the outline of everything in the surrounding within a meter glowed dimly in System's eyes. No ripple appeared beneath the tree branches. Apparently, the cricket had not jumped to water to escape.
"Could it be hiding behind the leaves?"
Upon recalling the direction the cricket escaped, System stared at the few leaves on the branch not far away and fell into contemplation.
The tree's leaves were shaped and sized like maple leaves, with short petioles, which made it a good spot for hiding.
System hesitantly moved toward the leaves, but it was not long before his antennae sensed a subtle vibration. Then he retreated toward the entrance of the tree hole.
Nevertheless, it was too late as the cricket had already made its escape back to the tree hole.
Actually, this cricket was hiding right under the branch. However, because of humans' inertia thinking, System forgot the insects' ability that enabled them to hang upside down…
Chapter 16: Cricket Hunting And Leaving
Editor: Atlas Studios
No one except for mantises and spiders was born to hunt, and nobody could do anything about it.
However, System's hunting skills could gradually be honed. While having no inheritance in his bloodline, human intelligence and the powerful physical strength of insects would surely make him an excellent hunter if he kept practicing.
If he attempted a few more similar hunts, System would be able to capture this cricket easily.
Unfortunately, there was no such subject for System to practice his skills. Before molting a third time, he would not be strong enough to challenge a strong opponent that would undoubtedly maim or even kill him. However, after molting and becoming an adult grasshopper, he would be ushered into this stormy and barren world with no prey to choose from.
System shook his head as he reached the entrance of cricket's tree hole and tried to squeeze in.
As System had observed previously, the narrow opening could not allow his head to pass through. If he forced his way in, it would cause his head to bleed out, which was not worth it.
Upon a closer look at the tree hole, System's insect head gradually revealed a human smile.
The tree hole was oddly shaped, narrow on the outside and wide on the inside, and System could even smell some special muddy odor from the cricket.
System would be able to squeeze into the hole and catch the cricket if he could widen the wood near the opening. System had a way to widen it—the biochemical weapon [Corrosive Slime].
This kind of corrosive liquid could easily corrode bark, and he believed that it could work well on wood too.
While there was not much slime he could secrete, System could recycle what he used for corrosion in order to reduce consumption. It would be sufficient to widen the cricket's tree hole.
The cricket, hiding in the tree hole, was like a turtle in a jar, with no possibility of escaping.
The fishy-smelling slime was slowly secreted from System's mandibles, and the opening of the tree was slowly corroded.
As System used [Corrosive Slime], the cricket that was hiding in the tree hole became restless. Its body was shaking, and it started to move from time to time.
System was also more careful when he saw this, just in case the cricket suddenly rushed out from the tree hole and escaped again.
After ten minutes, half of the opening was widened by System. The cricket had quietened as if it had resigned to its fate, with only its abdomen still breathing slowly.
After another ten minutes, System managed to bite off the cricket's head.
With no fight taking place, the cricket had been fumigated, and it had passed out due to the corrosive liquid's volatility before being captured.
Hence, it was normal for the cricket to be restless at first and suddenly quieten down after ten minutes. It seemed that the smell of System's [Corrosive Slime] carried some toxicity.
However, the toxicity in this gas was not strong, and it took more than ten minutes to poison the cricket in a confined space such as the tree hole. Thus, it could not be used as a means of hunting.
…
While System was eating the cricket's carcass, he thought about his next hunting target.
Food was scarce after the rainstorm, and System thought hard but had no idea about what to hunt next. Eventually, he thought about the two spiders he had seen.
In the process of hunting the cricket, System had more or less found a way to deal with the spiders.
He had a unique advantage over spiders, which was his ability to fly.
System planned to find a wooden stick, grab it, and fly to stab the spiders with it.
System did not think that he could impale the spiders with a wooden stick—all he wanted was to stab them into the water.
Although spiders could prevent falling with the help of their thread, he could launch two attacks to break the thread. Even if it was difficult for him to do so, success was probable.
System could plan until that step. The spiders' strength would be weakened if they fell into the water. But so what? Even if the spiders were unfortunately drowned, he would not be able to fish them out.
…
System chewed with his mandibles while thinking. After molting into an adult grasshopper, his mandibles had become sharper, and he could even chew through the sturdiest brain shell of the cricket easily.
Unlike normal meat, System preferred this kind of crustacean food, which tasted like crunchy milk chocolate, a taste that he had never tried in his previous life.
System devoured part of the cricket's carcass, grabbed its remaining body, and flew back to his lair.
After pondering for a while, System finally decided to leave this place. He was very familiar with the nearby area, which spanned for 100 meters. He was confident that he could live there comfortably for two months.
By constantly moving, System would be able to find more food and opportunities that could allow him to extend his short lifespan.
System decided to leave the remaining cricket carcass for the next morning and leave this place after he was full.
As compared to the dim night, System eventually decided to explore the unknown forest during the day. After all, his body needed some rest, and the dim light at night would make his exploration inefficient.
…
Before dawn, System had eaten the remaining cricket carcass.
Early in the morning, System crawled out of his lair on time, chose slightly higher ground, and started jumping forward.
Due to the loud flapping of his wings, System did not choose to fly. Although no birds had shown up nearby for several days after the torrential rain, it was hard to tell in further places.
Since he possessed [Information Reading] that could help him observe dangerous situations, System moved cautiously but not slowly. After five minutes, he had leaped and moved a hundred meters to an unfamiliar area.
He found several gray-brown mushrooms on a rotting tree with the great efficiency of [Information Reading].
Undoubtedly, mushrooms, which were made up of fungi, were nutritious food. Even so, System's body was unfamiliar with the smell of mushrooms, and he was unable to tell if the mushrooms were poisonous.
Although the mushrooms' color seemed to be non-toxic, System did not dare to try them easily. He jumped on a mushroom and observed it for a while, but eventually hopped away.
The layer water on the ground became shallower as System slowly moved toward the higher ground. After a few hundred meters, puddles of water appeared on the ground.
It was not long before System decided to take a rest due to the consumption of [Information Reading].
Soon, he spotted dozens of the insects, which he was familiar with. There were a dozen ants, which were commonly seen in the forest. These ants had one-centimeter dark-brown bodies. System seemed to have encountered this species before.
Currently, the ants were tearing at a tadpole struggling in the mud. This tadpole was about 3cm, not counting its tail, and had already grown a hind leg.
The water had receded, and the tadpole had been unlucky enough to be trapped in the mud. Even if the ants had not found it, the tadpole would have still died.
System surveyed the surroundings carefully, and after finding no sign of danger, he aimed at an ant and charged straight at it.
Now that System charged toward these ants in his adult form, he was no longer like a zebra rushing toward a hyena. Instead, he was like an elephant rushing toward a hyena.
He wanted to hunt an ant first to test his ability!
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