Jia Yan sensed from the feedback of biological organs that this was indeed his food.
"I want to survive."
"I must survive!"
"Even if it means eating bacteria or whatever it is!!"
Filled with a strong will to survive, Jia Yan vigorously moved his body, swimming towards more plankton and bacteria.
Suddenly, a lightning-fast object darted past him!
Jia Yan was startled.
"Hm... That's a water scorpion, a dragonfly larva. I must not provoke it!"
Seeing the fierce-looking monster catch another larva with its mouth's distinctive double hooks just tens of centimeters away from him, Jia Yan realized the danger.
Being familiar with the insect class, he knew this monster was a water scorpion, which would evolve into a dragonfly as an adult. However, before becoming a dragonfly, this water scorpion was the king of the water, capable of even preying on small fish fry!
Perhaps to humans, a small water scorpion seemed harmless, just an ordinary insect. But in Jia Yan's eyes, it seemed like a giant monster, with its powerful mouthparts capable of easily grabbing him and devouring him alive.
"There are quite a few water scorpions! There are even many dragonfly larvae. This small pond is simply an insect habitat!" Carefully exploring, Jia Yan discovered that the ecosystem of this pond was quite good, albeit a bit dirty, but it had a very complete ecological system.
"There are many creatures that could threaten me, and some species I haven't even seen yet."
He decided to be extremely cautious because he couldn't guarantee there would be another chance at rebirth.
Based on his simple observations of the scenery on the water surface earlier, he felt that the time period of his rebirth wouldn't be too far from his death.
At least he wouldn't die in 2015 and suddenly find himself in the year 2215, which seemed exaggerated.
The span would be at most a few years, perhaps even within the same year as his death!
Moreover, this time period would be the best for seeking revenge.
Because given the murderer's background, he might not be convicted for orchestrating the killings.
Powerful families always found ways.
If that were the case, Jia Yan didn't want to see Yu Yuan, who had caused his death, living happily for many years.
Being closer in time would be ideal.
He would become a mosquito and let Yu Yuan die in his sleep from an unknown virus!
Terminating Yu Yuan's continued enjoyment might indirectly save some people as well.
Of course, for a small mosquito to achieve this, it would have to start working hard from the larval stage!
As the saying goes — "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old," right?
In the pond, a newly born tiny larva made a decision that would influence its entire life!
Even if life lasted only a short half-month, in this brief reincarnation, it wanted to fulfill its desire for revenge!
And to achieve that desire, it had to work hard, harder, and even harder!
The lifespan of a male mosquito was very short, and its larval stage, also known as a larva, lasted about ten to fifteen days.
"The lifespan of male mosquitoes is indeed too short, but the main reason is because they complete the mating process. If I don't do that, my survival time could be significantly increased!"
Jia Yan possessed a human soul, so why would he care about mating with a female mosquito... cough cough, and all that, right?
If he didn't do that, he could probably survive for one or two months, although this survival time might be short for humans, it was still better than the lifespan of an ordinary male mosquito, right?
Of course, this wasn't absolute. There were many factors affecting the lifespan of male mosquitoes. To prevent those factors from occurring, Jia Yan decided to learn from female mosquitoes, supplement more nutrients, which should also have a significant impact on the lifespan of insects.
Jia Yan twisted his body in the pond, adapting to his current way of life.
The sewage in the pond was very murky. After searching around, Jia Yan found a relatively clean spot and decided to make it his temporary home.
"There are many sources of food for larvae, even if I only choose those rich in nutrients, I shouldn't worry about food. The only danger comes from those natural enemies."
As Jia Yan searched for a new home, he encountered two water scorpions lying in wait for prey. Seeing them from a distance, Jia Yan avoided them.
Ordinary larvae wouldn't have any sense of danger, but in this regard, Jia Yan surpassed ordinary larvae by miles!
"The so-called nutritious substances should be rich in protein or something similar. But among the items larvae consume, which ones are nutritious?"
Jia Yan decided to try eating everything. As a larva with a human soul, he could try many things and then decide what to eat.
After several attempts, he felt that his biological organs preferred that grayish-white organic matter.
After absorbing this organic matter into his mouthparts, Jia Yan immediately felt satisfied, and his body soon experienced a very comfortable sensation.
"Then let it be this. Hopefully, I didn't make the wrong choice."
Jia Yan chose this grayish-white organic matter as his food.
He began to eat non-stop!
In order to store nutrients, he forced himself to eat even if he couldn't eat anymore. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him and an ordinary larva?
While eating, he consciously exercised his body. His tiny body continuously stretched and flexed, never stopping for a moment.
Each time he was completely exhausted and his biological senses told him he couldn't continue, he would control his body and float in the water to rest.
Of course, during this time, Jia Yan was always observing his surroundings, trying to stay away from those terrifying water scorpions as much as possible.
Jia Yan wasn't sure if larvae needed to sleep, but whenever he felt tired, the strong drowsiness from his human soul would come, and then he would find a secluded place, such as the small space between two pieces of gravel, to hide and sleep for about ten minutes.
Larvae needed to breathe, so he would always be awakened by the feeling of suffocation halfway through sleeping and had to float to the water surface to exchange air using his siphon.
However, every time he surfaced for air, Jia Yan felt very nervous because the water scorpion near his "new home" always ambushed them, taking advantage of their need to surface for air!
"No, even holding my breath needs some training!"
When the second day of rebirth arrived,
Jia Yan once again witnessed the water scorpion, his "neighbor," catching fellow larvae not far away.
This made Jia Yan feel extremely threatened, and he began to realize that frequent breathing was also a risky affair.
Jia Yan decided to try to extend his air exchange time as much as possible!
"Oh... I can't hold it anymore! This won't do! How could I be defeated by such a feeling!"
The first attempt, Jia Yan managed to hold his breath for about three minutes longer than usual.
"Just holding on for about three minutes longer than usual isn't much stronger than an ordinary larva. I have to hold on
for longer next time!"
In the second attempt, Jia Yan managed to hold his breath for about an additional minute on top of the previous three minutes.
Like this, he exercised to extend his breathing time while also strengthening the strength of his larval body. Every few minutes, he would exhaust himself, feeling weak and exhausted.
Jia Yan knew that this kind of hard work would not be in vain, and the results would be beyond expectations!
Because the time for a larva to molt each time was very short, each molt represented one growth opportunity.
And each time he molted, it was the moment he reaped the benefits of his training!