"Right! From the looks of it, this must be the outskirts of a village or a large city. Therefore, there should be plenty of wild predators around. If I were to head into the city, the number of predators should considerably decrease!" Jia Yan's eyes lit up!
"And, moving into the city should help me determine my bearings and then find that bastard, Yu Yuan!"
The more he mulled over this plan, the more correct it seemed. Jia Yan, controlling his own body and aware of potential predators, flew towards a large cluster of buildings with many bright lights.
First, he had to locate human habitation, find a way to fill his stomach, and decide on his next move!
Generally, a mosquito stays within one to two kilometers of its birthplace.
But in reality, a mosquito can fly up to twenty kilometers a day!
This is an extremely fast speed, but most of the time, mosquitoes stay within a kilometer or two of their birthplace.
"It took me over an hour to fly two kilometers, and only then did this area feel densely populated!"
Near a brightly lit group of buildings, Jia Yan controlled his body and slowed his flying speed.
The human settlement in front of him should be a town.
There were quite a few pedestrians on the street at this hour, it probably wasn't past nine o'clock at night.
The feeling of this small town reminded Jia Yan of his hometown, a similar small town.
"Great, at least it's not a foreign country. Definitely in the land of China!"
Jia Yan was genuinely afraid that he might have been reborn abroad.
Even though on the first day he saw a pedestrian, the man was speaking Mandarin, there are Chinese people all over the world, who knows if that man was just a Chinese living abroad.
Jia Yan controlled his body, flying low!
The town wasn't big, with a main street only about two hundred meters long, and some shops were still open.
A woman holding a child was chatting with the owner of a shop.
Their accents sounded like they were from the northern region of the land of China!
"Liaoning!" Jia Yan looked at the shop's sign and made a definitive judgement.
Turns out, he had been reborn near a town in Liaoning, which was a great distance from Shanghai!
But... the matter of distance can be resolved tomorrow, for now food was the priority!
The intense hunger protest from Jia Yan's stomach made him put aside thoughts of Yu Yuan's distance for now.
He was getting closer and closer to the woman and child!
Jia Yan looked at the child, who was just over a year old, holding a bottle of branded pure milk in his small hands, spilling it all over.
Jia Yan braced himself, and carefully fluttered his wings and flew closer!
He did not intend to bite this child!
How could he bite such an adorable child!
Furthermore, even if he wanted to bite, he wasn't sure his newborn soft mouthparts could penetrate human skin.
Jia Yan's target was the milk spilled all over from the child's hand!
It's rare to hear mosquitoes drinking milk, but Jia Yan decided to try it out for himself.
"Good boy, don't move…" Jia Yan flew up cautiously.
Only when he got closer did he realize that the little boy being held by the woman wasn't a 'little' boy -- he was a 'giant' boy!
He was almost frightened to pee at the sight of a bat before, this baby, although still a baby, is probably much bigger than that bat. His tender little hands could probably flatten ten Jia Yans with one slap!
"Wah wah gah gah gah!" The little boy, holding a box of milk in his hand, saw Jia Yan.
He let out a startled cry.
"Stop fussing darling, in a little while grandma will take you home to sleep." The woman holding him quickly soothed the child.
The boy's ability to express himself through verbal language was lacking, his view from being held by the woman was different from the woman's view.
Otherwise, Jia Yan wouldn't have dared to fly down bravely!
Probably this child had never seen such a big mosquito since he was born, he was almost about to cry out loud.
By now, Jia Yan had landed next to the puddle of milk the boy had spilled all over the table.
He shook his wings; he flew this far without touching the ground from the moment he emerged from the cocoon, literally flying to exhaustion, if not for his strong physique, which regular mosquito can fly two kilometers without stopping?
Only he, Jia Yan, could!
Jia Yan looked up at the 'huge' little boy, if this little dude's drooling saliva fell, it seemed like it could almost drown him.
He didn't put it off any longer, extended his proboscis to the puddle of milk and sucked up a big gulp!
"Damn! What on earth is this taste!
A strong foul smell invaded his mouth, completely distinct from the humans' impression of milk. Jia Yan discovered he just couldn't tolerate it.
Spuk! He retched and spit out a mouthful of milk.
"Can't eat!" Jia Yan wobbled to his feet and took off from the table.
Having eaten something unpalatable, his stomach felt even emptier!
"Waahhhhhhh," the long-pent-up sobbing of the little boy finally burst out.
Sorry about that!
Jia Yan guiltily flew out of the store, leaving behind the sound of the woman hurriedly comforting her child.
"If possible, I really don't want to suck up plant juice. It's not only lacking in nutrition but also I'd have to get close to plants, and the risk of being preyed upon is high!"
One must avoid placing oneself in danger. Jia Yan would rather spend more time darting about under the watchful eye of humans, Earth's rulers, than encounter those predators.
"Nutrient loss is becoming critical. Do I really have to try bloodsucking?"
Jia Yan flew three to four meters high, wavering above the town's street.
As he agonized over whether to try bloodsucking or not...
Two staggering men appeared in his line of sight!
"I tell you... Old Li... My... My life is over!" A middle-aged man, half-bald on top, wagged a finger around as he shouted.
"Alright! Enough said, let's go home! Come, I'll accompany you home!" Another middle-aged man reached out to the first, both deeply engaged in their riotous discussion.
Drunks!
Jia Yan's eyes lit up!
For him to suck blood for the first time, these would be perfect targets.
Jia Yan stealthily landed once more.
He wanted to make a second attempt!
"Old Li, you tell me if my life is ruined or not! Is it ruined?" The first man, evidently more intoxicated, slurred his words, almost breaking into tears.
Jia Yan focused on this man!
Through his 'infrared' vision, he saw the man was running a fever, and the smell of alcohol, for some reason, was very enticing to him!
Looks like there's some truth to the rumor that people who drink are more likely to attract mosquitoes!
As the two men staggered and swayed along, talking, they didn't notice a male Anopheles mosquito, much larger than your average mosquito, delicately landing on the back of the half-bald man's neck!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Jia Yan could feel his tubular pseudo-heart beating hard, a direct result of his extreme nervousness!
A thoughtless move, and the bald man might swat him with a strong slap. If he were unlucky, he would die without a proper burial!
Luckily, the man was heavily drunk.
Jia Yan nestled on his neck, the six sturdy legs desperately grasping onto his skin!
On closer examination, human skin looks like a series of gorges, with lots of pore openings, Jia Yan's fully evolved legs could easily grip onto the skin's surface.
He had to act now!
"My friend, I don't know if your life is ruined or not, but my past life certainly was. In this life, to survive, I must drink your blood... My apologies! At the very least, I will not infect you with any disease."
With a professional sense of duty, Jia Yan silently apologized in his heart.
Then he commonly extended his proboscis!
Success or failure would hinge on this moment!
When mosquitoes suck blood, they primarily rely on the upper and lower jaws at the front of their mouthparts to pierce the skin. These jaws need to be strong to cut open the skin and pierce the blood vessel!
But male mosquitoes can't suck blood, not only because their mouthparts are slightly weaker than those of females but also due to decaying jaws!
However, Jia Yan did not believe that his strength was inferior to that of a female mosquito!
So he had to give it a try!
After adjusting his position, and preparing the jaws for exertion…
Jia Yan aimed his proboscis at the man's skin and lightly pierced it…
To be continued!
Thanks again for your support today, I'm grateful to the two readers who rewarded me. Especially the reader, 'Stupid de Er Cat', who really made my day with their generous contribution!