12: Eat cicadas, rising energy

“A true Golden Cicada?”

As his gaze fell upon the culprit, Yang Dian was suddenly overcome by an indescribable hunger.

Flesh, Soul, instinct... everything urged him to grab the Golden Cicada.

And then.

Eat it!

“Hiss~”

Resisting the instinctive craving with powerful willpower.

Yang Dian forcibly turned his head, moving his gaze away from the Golden Cicada.

As the Golden Cicada disappeared from his sight, the sudden hunger also vanished.

“So, why do I want to eat a mutated cicada?”

“And raw...”

Considering a few possibilities, Yang Dian once again turned his attention to the mutated cicada – the Golden Cicada.

This time, he no longer suppressed his body's instincts.

Stepping back two paces slightly, then quickly moving forward.

Yang Dian stepped onto a protruding tree knot.

When he reached the apex, he curled his fingers into claws and dug them into the tree trunk.

With a sudden pull of his wrist, his body flew up another three meters, bringing him next to the Golden Cicada.

With the target right beside him, Yang Dian naturally didn't hesitate.

He extended his right hand and snatched, and the Golden Cicada, which had been clinging to the tree trunk, sucking sap, was now clutched in Yang Dian's palm.

He then extended his left hand and pulled at the tree trunk.

Using the momentum, he had already landed on a thicker tree branch nearby.

Once he stood firm, Yang Dian looked at the Golden Cicada in his hand, which seemed to have sensed danger, had stopped chirping, and was rapidly flapping its wings.

“So, should I really eat it?”

After a moment of hesitation, Yang Dian finally decided to trust his instincts.

He gently broke off a golden cicada wing and put it into his mouth.

The moment he held it, Yang Dian felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction welling up in his heart.

It was like holding an ice pop on a hot summer day, or drinking a bowl of hot soup in the dead of winter.

It was also like eating a long-desired candy from childhood in one bite.

The taste was endlessly captivating.

However, this feeling came and went quickly.

In a few blinks of an eye, the satisfaction that had risen from his heart rapidly receded, replaced by a sense of loss.

He unconsciously smacked his lips.

Only then did Yang Dian realize that the golden cicada wing in his mouth had been completely digested in a short amount of time.

“Uh, when did my digestive power get so good?”

After muttering to himself, Yang Dian subconsciously summoned his cheat.

Then, as expected, his energy increased.

It rose from the original 0.63 to 2.53.

“Such a thin cicada wing, and it increased my energy by 1.9 points?”

His left hand, resting on the tree trunk, exerted a slight force, and a crisp 'crack' sound simultaneously reached Yang Dian's ears.

“Besides that, my Physique seems to have strengthened a bit too.”

“The finger strength I just mastered yesterday is showing signs of losing control again.”

Noticing the changes in his body, Yang Dian looked at the Golden Cicada in his hand again, subconsciously swallowing.

“So, to eat or not to eat?”

His mind was still weighing the options.

But his body had already honestly put the Golden Cicada into his mouth.

He had eaten cicadas before.

It was just that before they were deep-fried or braised, and now it was raw.

No big deal.

“Crunch, crunch...”

After enduring the nausea and chewing a few times, Yang Dian's tightly furrowed brows quietly relaxed.

The Golden Cicada was unexpectedly delicious.

(￣～￣) Chew!

Although no seasoning was added.

But the crisp texture felt between his teeth as he chewed, and the refreshing, mouth-watering aroma of grass and wood that flowed out after, continuously diminished the instinctive nausea Yang Dian felt before eating the Golden Cicada raw.

He kept chewing.

It wasn't until he had thoroughly chewed the Golden Cicada into tiny pieces and swallowed it that Yang Dian let out a satisfied sigh.

“Whew~”

“Delicious.”

“I love it!”

“If I get a chance next time, I'll eat it again!”

Feeling the faint warmth emanating from his stomach, Yang Dian patted his belly.

“I wonder how much energy it will boost after it's all digested.”

With a hint of anticipation, Yang Dian stood on the tree branch, stretched, then bent his legs and leaped.

“Bang~”

He landed in a heroic pose.

“Ugh~”

“A bit overconfident~”

“My foot is numb...”

Rubbing his faintly aching right foot, Yang Dian then patted his own cheek:

“Still need to be steady, otherwise, who knows when disaster might strike.”

After reminding himself twice, he stood up, observed his surroundings to get his bearings, and then walked towards the girl's location.

Just as he was about to exit the dense forest, he turned his head back to look at the large tree where the Golden Cicada had once sucked sap.

“I wonder if other Golden Cicadas will mutate here in the future.”

“I also wonder if other mutated creatures are like the Golden Cicada.”

“If I eat them, can they replenish my energy?”

Suppressing his gradually wandering thoughts, Yang Dian turned and strolled out of the dense forest.

Before he could even observe the situation outside the dense forest, he heard faint sounds of crying and curses reaching his ears.

“You look so refined, I didn't expect you to do such a thing.”

“Tell me, did you steal my gold necklace?!”

“The necklace was perfectly fine on my neck just now, how did it disappear in a blink of an eye?”

“Among the few of us, you were the only one who didn't faint. When I woke up, your hand was still on my shoulder.”

“Tell me, did you hide my gold necklace?!”

“I didn’t, it wasn’t me! I already said I just saw your body was crooked and wanted to help you sit upright!”

“I didn’t take your necklace!”

Following the sound, it was indeed the middle-aged woman from the unconscious trio who had woken up.

She was now grabbing the hand of the only girl who hadn't fallen unconscious, accusing her of stealing her necklace?

“Whew~”

Exhaling, Yang Dian let out a somewhat self-deprecating laugh.

“In this day and age, good intentions really don’t always lead to good outcomes.”

“Some people truly can’t be considered people...”

...