Crack, crack!
The sounds resonated next to his ears, his stiff exoskeleton was indeed beginning to fracture piece by piece.
Good, continue!
The grinding went on for at least ten minutes.
At last, just when Jia Yan was about to exhaust his strength, he surfaced slowly from his old skin, carrying a tender newborn covering!
The third molt, a success!
"Good... Despite the exhaustion, the regular training is indispensable. Each molt is a vast progression and the best time for training efficiency. I can't miss this chance!"
Without waiting to regain his strength, Jia Yan directed his body to crash into the cobblestone surface!
Time flies quickly, and thus another seven days passed.
A pitch-black and windy night...
The sky was gloomy, a cool breeze blew through a murky pond, stirring ripples on its surface.
This pond, tranquil in the humans' eyes, was indeed raging. Countless minute creatures within it were engaging in a battle of life and death!
An Aquatic Chafer hid quietly in its territory.
The water in this territory was fairly clean, crowded with such an amount of creatures that the Aquatic Chafer never went hungry.
It lurked quietly at the bottom of the water, waiting for its prey.
Suddenly, an unusual sight appeared before the Aquatic Chafer!
It was a Larva.
However, this was not just any Larva. Its enormous body was nearly twice the size of the common Larva!
Is this the same creature I eat daily?
The Aquatic Chafer was taken aback, but its combative nature prevailed as it prepared to attack.
Even if this Larva was twice the size of others, it wasn't likely a match for it. After all, the Aquatic Chafer was a born hunter who could prey even fish of equal size!
The massive Larva seemed oblivious to the Aquatic Chafer's presence. It merely flickered its unique black body slowly through the water.
The Aquatic Chafer prepared to attack, and then...
It suddenly lunged!
A row of bubbles appeared in the water - the aftermath of the Aquatic Chafer's lightning-fast attack!
"I've been waiting for you!"
At the very moment the Aquatic Chafer launched its attack! The enormous Larva in the water suddenly contracted its abdomen and bolted away!
Swipe!
The Aquatic Chafer's forelimb and double hook attack lunged into empty water. Annoyed, it abruptly turned its head toward the rapidly departing colossal Larva!
It darted through the water!
Attacking once again!
"Come on, are you afraid of you?!"
The giant Larva continued to twirl its body, evading this strike!
Its speed was extreme, just as fast as the Aquatic Chafer's attack velocity.
The Aquatic Chafer's attack still fell into nothingness.
This time, without waiting for the Aquatic Chafer to initiate a third assault, the colossal Larva quickly flickered its body a few times, causing its figure to disappear into the mire of the dark night water...
"What a thrill!"
Jia Yan, who was swimming swiftly, cautiously controlled his body, feeling a sense of absolute joy within.
This Larva body was his possession, within seven days, after another molt, he was now in the initial stage of the fourth molt!
This was also his final molt as a Larva, and then came the time to undergo pupa transformation and emerge as a Mosquito!
Feeling stronger than he ever was, Jia Yan purposely teased the ruler of this body of water—his Aquatic Chafer neighbor!
The result was pretty satisfying. He controlled his body, easily evading the Aquatic Chafer's attacks time and again.
"In a few days, I'm to transform into a pupa to become a Mosquito..."
"Since I can confront an Aquatic Chafer, besides the usual training, I will tease that Aquatic Chafer more often in the coming days and strengthen my evasion speed!" Jia Yan made a decision that would leave the said 'neighbor' crying hopelessly.
Compared to the second and third molts, this last molt endowed Jia Yan with a robust iron-clad body!
Its shell was pitch black, covered with mottled colors, bearing unmistakable marks of countless impacts.
This body was undoubtedly a customized Larva shell, a state of development nearly unreachable for an ordinary Larva!
Compared to those petite Larvas, not only was Jia Yan's post-molt body twice the size, it also lacked their delicacy, instead exuding a sense of heaviness, as if it were incredibly robust.
This was attributed to his tireless exercise and ample nutrition.
"I'm about to become a Mosquito. There are so many things to do when I become one. To adapt to life afterwards, I need to strengthen this body before that!"
Jia Yan returned to his den—a cozy and safe cobblestone crevice home!
This warm and secure place now seemed a bit small.
Jia Yan controlled his body to bump inside it. Due to the limited space, the moving back and forth felt a bit clunky.
"No problem, this hindrance is not that big."
Jia Yen continued with his crash training!
Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa!
With each repeated impact, the residual water algae on the pebble's surface were completely scraped off, bringing the surface of the stone back to its original state.
Time sped by, with yet another night passing.
The larva Jia Yan didn't really have the concept of rest. Besides the intermittent moments when he fell asleep, he essentially spent the whole day training and seeking food.
As the first ray of sunlight shone into the pond.
"All right! Time to go up for air and food, and take the opportunity to tease that Aquatic Chafer again!"
The enormous larval body residing in the crevice of the pebble began to swim around. Jia Yan had now fully adapted to swimming.
Or rather, compared to ordinary larvae, he was completely a swimming champion. No other larvae had his swimming skills!
The huge larva swam out of the crevice and devoured the grey organic matter in the water.
This organic matter now seemed much smaller. He needed to consume a lot to feel full.
Still, this proved just how much Jia Yan's body had grown.
Just like a human child, initially getting full from a single banana, and then eating ten bananas and still not feeling satisfied when grown up.
"Uh, why am I thinking about bananas? I shouldn't be so wicked as a larva." Jia Yan became somewhat overcome with the urge to laugh when he thought about this analogy.
The days of being reborn as a larva were indeed difficult. There was no one to talk to, no one to discuss things with. Whenever he fell asleep and dreamed, he would dream of his family and school life.
Whenever he woke up, that unspeakable sense of loneliness would engulf Jia Yan's whole body.
He was very aware; he could never return to those kinds of days again!
In order to alleviate his loneliness and prevent himself from going mad, he would continually talk to himself.
With no one to offer encouragement, cheer him on, he cheered himself on instead! He cheered himself on a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times!
Otherwise, he simply wouldn't be able to endure the rigorous training.
With no one to engage in conversation, he would keep himself company.
His mind was always racing, ceaseless, non-stop, not even pausing for a second! It was the only way he wouldn't forget that he was once a human, that he was different from the larva around him...
"Ah...This... this is what it feels like to be full!"
Swallowing the grey organic matter, wasted at least ten minutes of Jia Yan's time before he started to feel a sense of fullness.
Next up, it was time to provoke his neighbour!
Jia Yan lifted his spirit and swam towards the location where the Aquatic Chafer was usually found.
As expected, the Aquatic Chafer was lurking at the bottom of the pond.
Its body color blended well with the muddy water, ordinary water creatures would have a hard time distinguishing it.
However, as a being with a human soul, Jia Yan naturally had greater judgement skills than ordinary creatures and easily identified the Aquatic Chafer.
"I still must be extremely careful. I'm no match for its strength at present. If I'm not careful and actually get caught, I'll die!"
Jia Yan snapped back to reality, advancing cautiously towards the creature.
His body maintained a posture that was ready to exert force and escape at any moment!
Whoosh!
The Aquatic Chafer, apparently not recognizing the huge larva before it, attacked in the same pattern and with the same movements.
It bolted ferociously!
Its formidable double-hooked jaws swiped just before its eyes!
"Escape!" At a thought from deep within Jia Yan, his larval body sprang a sudden retreat!
He successfully escaped the attacking range.
Splutter! The Aquatic Chafer's attacks didn't stop, taking Jia Yan's escape direction into account and lunging forward once more, pressing closer again!
"I'll escape again!" Jia Yan's body exploded with the limit of his strength, and with a sudden twitch, he escaped from the Aquatic Chafer's attack once more.
After two consecutive failures to capture its prey, the Aquatic Chafer was apparently puzzled, pausing in the water and staring at the slowly retreating Jia Yan with its compound eyes, letting its body gradually sink to the bottom...
"Ha-ha, bewildered aren't you?" Jia Yan glanced back at the Aquatic Chafer behind him, chuckling disdainfully in his heart.
What used to be a huge threat, seemingly... became a thing of the past.
As long as he was careful, this Aquatic Chafer wouldn't pose much of a threat!
Ordinary larvae wouldn't be able to achieve this, right?
There was a sense of pride in Jia Yan's heart, but with it came a sense of loss...
Even the Aquatic Chafer could no longer deal with him; it seemed that in this pond world, his last wish had been fulfilled as well.
Was it time to leave?...
His feelings were complicated.
"Well, it's time to say goodbye... to the first world after my rebirth."
After returning to his den, Jia Yan stared blankly at his little pebble home.
I'd like to give a special thanks to the few friends who left messages. You gave me even more motivation to keep updating! And of course, I would like to thank those who recommended my book. You all gave me the confidence to continue writing. Thank you!
Of course, my greatest thanks go to 'the tiger who eats wild boars'! Not only did you leave messages and votes, but you even donated! You're my favourite, ha-ha! Rest assured, the character you recommended is set in place!
If any of my friends have any suggestions regarding the book's character names or plot, please leave me a comment. I will try my best to accommodate your suggestions.