After an indeterminate amount of time, Jia Yan slowly regained consciousness from a drowsy state.
The initial pain from the mysterious fluid's transformation of his body had subsided, replaced by a soothing sensation, like a gentle stream flowing through him.
This feeling of tranquility was quite pleasant.
However, Jia Yan found himself slipping into a drowsy state, and before he knew it, he had lost track of time.
"How long have I been asleep?" Jia Yan asked as he regained clarity, surveying the landscape below him.
He noticed that the height of his compound eyes had once again increased slightly.
Shaking his wings, Jia Yan brushed off the slightly hardened substance that had formed on his body.
With a crack, he stood up from the pile of rubble.
"My body has grown a few more centimeters! It's probably around seventeen to eighteen centimeters now, and with the stinger, it's definitely reached twenty centimeters!" Jia Yan exclaimed, his compound eyes gleaming with excitement.
Without hesitation, Jia Yan crawled towards the corpses of the giant beetles.
He was determined to continue devouring them!
Lifting one of the beetle corpses, Jia Yan's proboscis pierced effortlessly into its brain.
Two more days passed quickly.
In the dim underground world, a massive creature over twenty centimeters in size crawled on the rocky ground.
It seemed to be in a state of hibernation, barely conscious.
The surface of this gigantic mosquito's body was covered in a thin layer of congealed substance. Some of these substances had solidified into hard blocks, merging with the existing clusters on its surface to form a new part of its armor.
This enormous mosquito could now be called a "giant mosquito"!
With a body length exceeding twenty-five centimeters, including its stinger, it boasted a formidable size. Its bulky body was now adorned with hardened clusters, evolved for defense.
These clusters, layered upon its surface, appeared as if they had been formed through countless beatings, yet they only enhanced its sleek, streamlined appearance.
The overall impression it gave was not that of a mosquito but rather a terrifying creature from another world.
After an unknown period, the gigantic crawling mosquito twitched its antennae.
Crack!
Some secretion from the antennae, which had not solidified with the clusters, fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Crack, crack, crack!
As the giant mosquito stood up, more and more fragments fell, producing a clear, crisp sound as they hit the ground.
Eventually, the giant mosquito stood up completely from the pile of rubble.
It emerged like a monstrous demon from the abyss, its entire body gleaming black, its compound eyes glowing dimly. Even its outer layer was enveloped in a thin, transparent layer of defensive clusters!
This creature, which had grown to be larger and more formidable, was none other than Jia Yan!
After absorbing the mysterious fluid secreted by the brains of thirty-six giant beetles over the past two days, he had once again taken a step forward, forging his body to be even larger and stronger!
"I can sense that there's still some of the fluid's effects within my body that haven't fully taken effect yet. In that case, further absorbing the fluid in the short term won't have much effect," Jia Yan reflected as he felt his body.
Feeling a bit disappointed that not all of the mysterious fluid had been absorbed, Jia Yan nevertheless felt reassured.
The mysterious fluid wasn't completely ineffective; it was just temporarily unable to be absorbed...
And the effects of absorbing the fluid from the fiery red centipedes and over thirty beetle brains had already brought him tremendous joy!
Indeed, if we consider the third mutation he underwent here in the cave, Jia Yan had made unimaginable progress in this place!
Before entering the cave, he was already a huge mosquito, nearly ten centimeters in length, a size that was already rare in the natural world!
But what about after entering this cave?!
The third mutation he underwent here had increased his size to thirteen centimeters.
Then, after consuming large quantities of the mysterious fluid twice...
Now, he had leaped to a size of over twenty-five centimeters, including his stinger!
He was truly a worthy giant mosquito!
Beyond anything found in the natural world!
Jia Yan looked at the world before him, where the ground seemed lower and his vision extended farther.
Compared to when he had just crawled out of the pond as a larva, this change could be described as earth-shattering!
Even more so than before he entered this cave!
"Now, I am truly powerful!" Jia Yan declared as he surveyed the underground world.
There were countless creatures here, many of them mysterious.
And even the brains of these creatures contained a fluid that could further enlarge him!
"Let's go outside and see! My survival abilities have undoubtedly reached a new level. I might not even need to fear the stinger attacks of those beetle armies anymore!" Jia Yan muttered to himself.
Whether to fight or flee when encountering those beetle armies in reality would depend on the situation at the time!
After all, those beetle armies were capable of paralyzing even the fiery red centipedes, and it was only because of their paralysis that Jia Yan had ultimately benefited.
Jia Yan didn't know if his defense was as strong as that of the fiery red centipedes, let alone whether there were any tiny gaps in his cluster defense. If there were, his fate in a real battle might not be much better than that of the fiery red centipedes!
But overall, Jia Yan was much stronger than before!
The six sturdy legs of the giant mosquito trampled on the rubble as it climbed to a high place.
Its abdominal muscles, now larger and more powerful, began to exert force.
Slap, slap, slap!
Its wings, which had grown along with its body, began to flap slowly but steadily...
Slap, slap, slap...
Buzz—
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The loud and noisy sound echoed in the vast cave.
Jia Yan realized that the noise generated by his flapping wings would definitely be a problem now that he had grown so large.
Otherwise, when he returned to the surface, people would hear the noise from afar and catch sight of him just by looking up.
But now wasn't the time to worry about such issues.
Jia Yan's wings flapped at an increasingly rapid pace. If the muscles that propelled his wings had the strength of a human at around ten centimeters in size, then with his current size, they far surpassed the strength of any human!
If these wing muscles were equivalent to arms, Jia Yan might even beat all humans at arm wrestling!
Of course, that was just speculation.
The huge black mosquito gradually flew into the air from the top of the rubble.
Then, its body cut a beautiful arc in the air!
Flying towards the underground world outside the cave!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The noise was tremendous.
It seemed that the noise caused by this mosquito could almost drown out an entire beetle army!
Splash—
As Jia Yan flew over the clear stream outside the cave, a massive grass carp, about fifty centimeters in size, suddenly leaped out of the water!
Its mouth gaping, it aimed to bite the airborne prey!
Judging by its size, this grass carp was likely the same one Jia Yan had encountered before!
This time, Jia Yan didn't dodge but instead smirked mysteriously
as he hovered in the air.
During the grass carp's swift leap, it caught sight of the somewhat familiar figure in the air and was startled.
Why did this flying creature seem so much larger now?
The grass carp's memory was limited, and it couldn't recall the painful attack it had suffered from this creature!
But since it had already jumped up, it wouldn't let go of the opportunity to try again.
With such a large prey, it could have a hearty meal if it dragged it into the water!
With a haunting glint in his compound eyes, Jia Yan awaited in the air as the grass carp rapidly ascended, its mouth almost reaching Jia Yan's extended legs!
In that instant, the faintly glowing stinger on Jia Yan's abdomen moved like lightning!
Directly piercing the body of the airborne grass carp!
After the further progress and transformation brought by the mysterious fluid, Jia Yan's stinger had reached a length of about three and a half centimeters. Whether for humans or any other creature, this stinger was an extremely dangerous weapon.
And with the stinger already prepared to strike, the grass carp, which had no ability to dodge while in mid-air, was as defenseless as a sitting duck.
So when the faint sound of piercing came from its lower abdomen!
Jia Yan knew that the grass carp, which had been bothering him, was finished!
It had ambushed him repeatedly, and now that he had killed it, he could also study whether fish also possessed mysterious fluid. It was a just punishment!
With a splash!
The massive grass carp, which had reached fifty centimeters in the air, thrashed violently with its tail!
Its head had been pierced by Jia Yan's stinger, causing intense pain!
As it struggled, Jia Yan felt an unprecedented heaviness, dragging his body into the creek.
This grass carp must have weighed over ten pounds. If Jia Yan couldn't bear this weight, he would either have to release his stinger and let it return to the stream or be dragged into the water with it!
But after three mutations and the further enlargement from the mysterious fluid twice, could Jia Yan not bear this weight?!
"Get up!" Jia Yan commanded inwardly as his body plummeted.
The wings of the giant mosquito suddenly flapped at an accelerated frequency!
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The grass carp realized that its body, which had been hooked, was gradually being carried away from the direction of the stream by the creature carrying it...
Then, with a thud!
It was thrown onto the bank far from the water by Jia Yan!
By now, the power of Jia Yan's wings was far from ordinary! Carrying such a massive grass carp in flight was not too difficult for him!
He had truly become stronger!
"All right, now let me see if you also possess the mysterious fluid!" Jia Yan stood beside the grass carp's body, his compound eyes gleaming with anticipation.
In the next moment, disregarding the struggling fish on the ground, Jia Yan plunged his proboscis into its head...