In the following days, Kelvier pondered for a long time, eventually deciding to check on the other nurse bug. Shortly after, he discovered many hatched eggs, leaving behind only shells. Kelvier was once again stunned to see the discarded shell of that nurse bug—it resembled an overly gnawed cabbage.

  With a sinking feeling, he turned and hurried back, berating himself for his grotesque appearance. Now it was clear: his bloated form was intended as the first meal for the King Bug!

  Driven by urgency, he rushed back. The King Bug, a terror even in its larval stage, had been witnessed countless times by Kelvier. With his current form, he was nothing but a duck ready for the oven!

  Using a metal shard in his brain as a reference, he now understood the size of his body—about as thick as a ping pong ball and roughly the length of a sausage. In comparison, the eggs were mere sesame seeds. Typically, hatching doubled their size; while two sesame seeds seemed insignificant, Kelvier took no chances. He was certain that once the King Bug hatched and devoured him, it would grow exponentially within minutes.

  Trapped without an escape, Kelvier would not wait to be devoured. The solution was to devour first!

  The nurse bug's characteristic was its voracious appetite. Kelvier roared in his mind, "Before you devour me, I'll devour you first!"

  The eggs on the other end of the cave, already hatched, were quite different from those before him—smaller and with more delicate shells, their color paler.

  Looking at the dense cluster of eggs, Kelvier felt a chill. He didn't dare consider the full extent; if even one thousandth hatched, he would be doomed.

  Though he felt his insect life was meaningless, Kelvier was not resigned to waiting for death. Spotting a cluster, he took a deep breath, and his thick, stubby legs worked tirelessly, shuttling eggs into his mouth.

  Once a human, Kelvier was initially repulsed by the taste, but... it wasn't bad at all, reminiscent of juicy beef or perhaps beef meatballs...

  Thus, Kelvier, while overwhelmed with disgust, savored his meal. He forced himself not to think about what he was eating—these were just densely packed beef.

  It was either them or him—devour or be devoured! Kelvier did not pause, clearing a large area in moments. Roughly estimated, he had devoured no less than five hundred eggs.

  The other nurse bug in charge of the eggs didn't come after me when they hatched, which suggests that there are territories for egg hatching. My priority now is to devour all the eggs in my area!

  If time allows, I'll clear the entire field!

  After consuming about two thousand eggs, Kelvier suddenly felt a change in temperature. He guessed he could use the day-night temperature difference to estimate time.

  This realization made him more cautious.

  Within about a day, he could devour around ten thousand eggs. Once he reached about nine thousand, his pace would drastically slow down due to the need to compress the eggs in his stomach to make room for more.

  The cave was densely packed with millions of eggs, and from what he knew, the eggs would hatch in about a week. That meant if he didn't devour at least one-tenth of them, they would begin hatching—starting from the moment of his "rebirth."

  Kelvier was anxious, silently praying that other nurse bugs were taking care of the hatching areas.

  All he could do now was try his best to devour as many eggs in his vicinity as possible.

  However, the next day brought a change; somehow, Kelvier's appetite decreased significantly.

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  He had been feeling nauseous continuously, but his nurse bug instinct was usually insatiable. Now, even the nurse bug seemed to have grown weary of the taste.

  Kelvier cursed in frustration, suppressing his nausea to continue devouring the eggs one by one. But this method was too slow, and tragically, after swallowing about three thousand eggs, his stomach could hold no more!

  Kelvier was anxious. The eggs, once fluid-filled like beef meatballs, had become more like hard-boiled eggs in the last few days, and now they were solidifying.

  Kelvier tried to look back to see how many eggs were left around him, catching a glimpse of his tail and pausing, sensing something off.

  It seemed his body had shortened, and its color had deepened.

  After observing more closely, he confirmed his suspicion.

  Why was this happening? Kelvier was startled, pondering if he was about to metamorphose into something else.

  "But it’s not time to evolve yet! Damn it!" Kelvier roared, ignoring what he might become, he continued to compress his "stomach" and devour more eggs.

  Half a day passed as if he had overeaten, and his lower body felt like it was about to burst.

  Kelvier persisted a while longer, but the pain intensified, and he couldn't help but stop.

  "Damn it, am I going to burst?" he cursed, as if he were human, he would be rolling on the ground clutching his stomach.

  "Ah!" At that moment, the rear part of his body split open, and a greasy white liquid gushed out.

  "What a relief!" It felt like relieving a bladder held for days, and Kelvier felt an unexpected ease wash over him, although he sensed something strange—had a hard shell formed inside his stomach?

  As the oily white fluid continued to pour out, Kelvier's fear escalated, "Could I die from losing too much fluid?" He was powerless, only able to watch as the liquid flowed endlessly.

  Nearby, some of the insect eggs began to twitch occasionally. Resigned, Kelvier lay down, expecting death, his body devoid of strength. Yet, contrary to his expectations, he felt more alive than ever.

  Inspecting his once plump belly, now deflated like a punctured balloon, Kelvier twisted and shook himself, causing the skin to peel away completely, revealing a sleek, dark gray body underneath.

  "Did I actually evolve?" Kelvier was stunned. Although his new form remained bulky and awkward, it was a vast improvement over his previous state. His legs had grown longer and sharper—each one now a potential weapon.

  A faint noise drew his attention; a tiny leg, thinner than a needle, was emerging from one of the eggs. Kelvier's heart pounded as he dashed over, stabbing and stirring inside the egg to ensure the larva's demise.

  Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kelvier no longer hesitated. He moved quickly, crushing eggs under his feet and hands—though "hands" was perhaps a generous term—his movements relentless, piercing each egg he touched.

  As more eggs began to quiver and hatch, the situation grew dire. One larva managed to break free, looking around in confusion before freezing in place. Kelvier sneered at the irony—their feast was about to turn fatal. He rushed over and impaled it.

  But within moments, dozens more larvae had emerged. Seeing the inevitability of his plight, Kelvier fled to a recessed part of the cave wall he had previously noted as a defensible position. The wall provided a barrier on three sides, giving him at least a chance to fight.

  The eggs continued to hatch at an alarming rate, escalating from about ten a minute to a thousand. Horrifyingly, as the larvae hatched, they instinctively sought a nurse bug, and finding none, began to devour the unhatched eggs around them—and even each other.

  Soon, a dense Zerg Swarm reemerged within the cave. Kelvier didn't dare breathe loudly. Despite his size being much larger, like an elephant amongst chicks, he had seen enough of the King Bug's terror to know not to take any chances. He was genuinely afraid and praying.

  When larvae emerge, they lack wings and crawl on the ground, significantly limiting their mobility. Kelvier was relatively hidden, but the sheer number of insects meant it was only a matter of time before he was discovered. A few groups of insects found him, though they seemed unable to determine if he was friend or foe, and one group paused only briefly.

  Kelvier guessed that larvae require a great deal of energy when they hatch, and the most energy-dense part of the human body is the brain. Nurse bugs can care for larvae and potentially help maximize their energy. Once a larva devours a nurse bug, it should be ready to venture outside.

  Now, however, with no nurse bugs to devour, the larvae began to consume the unhatched eggs instead. As the number of larvae increased and the number of eggs decreased, the larvae soon began to devour each other. To a human observer, it might seem like a minor skirmish, but to Kelvier, it was both shocking and horrifying. It was a war involving tens of thousands of troops!

  Kelvier knew that as the available food dwindled, it was only a matter of time before the larvae would turn on him. His worry grew, but then he heard a hissing sound.

  A group of about a hundred larvae were fighting fiercely nearby; injured ones were quickly overwhelmed and devoured by others. The swarm moved closer to Kelvier, who silently prayed they would pass by.

  Suddenly, one larva stopped and stared directly at Kelvier. "Hiss, hiss!" The battle halted, and about a hundred insects turned their attention towards him. Kelvier sensed trouble and braced himself.

  With a noise like a war drum, the swarm of larvae charged at him!