3: Shuttle insect world, confused beetle

The internet and public opinion in Yang City had completely exploded this night.

“Shocking! An unknown-grade awakening phenomenon has appeared in Yang City, suspected to be SS-rank or even higher!”

“A black pillar of light enveloped the west of the city, with myriad insects bowing in worship. Is it a blessing or a curse?”

“Expert Interpretation: Energy fluctuations are unprecedented in history, perhaps originating from the same source as the opening of the Insect World passage a century ago?”

“A mysterious powerhouse is hidden in our city? The military has already intervened in the investigation!”

All sorts of speculations ran rampant, but not a single piece of information would connect this earth-shattering phenomenon to the impoverished young man from Eighth Middle School who had just awakened the E-rank Profession of an Insect Breeder.

After a long while, seeing that the outside world had finally quieted down, Lin Hao took a deep breath.

“Initiate Insect Realm Shuttle.”

With a flash of white light, he vanished from the room.

After a brief sensation of spatial distortion, Lin Hao found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

Giant, strangely shaped plants blotted out the sky, their trunks covered in thick, slippery moss.

The air was filled with the heavy scent of humus and a primal aura that made one’s heart pound.

“Is this the Insect World?”

His Spiritual Power was being consumed rapidly, like a floodgate had opened.

Lin Hao calmly calculated that with his current weak Level 1 Spiritual Power, he could only sustain himself in this place for five minutes.

Just then, a faint rustling sound caught his attention.

Lin Hao looked in the direction of the sound, his pupils slightly contracting.

Beneath a giant purple mushroom cap ahead, a colossal praying mantis, almost as tall as an adult, lay dormant!

Its compound eyes gleamed with a cold metallic luster, and its two serrated forelimbs, like the scythes of death, were ready.

“If I can contract this mantis, I’ll definitely sweep through the upcoming novice training secret realm!”

Time was pressing, so he immediately activated the Insect Tamer’s basic skill—Insect Contract—on the giant mantis.

An invisible, taming Spiritual Power ripple spread towards the mantis.

A hint of confusion flickered in the mantis’s compound eyes.

The energy of the contract seemed to be taking effect. Lin Hao could feel his Spiritual Power accelerating its consumption.

Just as the contract was about to be completed, the giant mantis suddenly let out a sharp shriek!

Its compound eyes were instantly filled with Rage and resistance!

The predator’s ferocity completely overwhelmed that tiny, insignificant bit of “affinity” infection.

“Damn it, the contract failed!” Lin Hao was startled!

Almost simultaneously, the mantis transformed into a emerald green lightning bolt, its two sharp scythe-like forelimbs tearing through the air with a piercing whistle, striking directly at Lin Hao’s head!

The speed was astonishing!

Lin Hao’s heart tightened.

However, he was already mentally prepared.

Contracting high-level or ferocious insects was by no means easy.

“Leave!” he yelled without hesitation.

Just as the scythe of death was about to touch his forehead, his body transformed into a white light, disappearing from the Insect World in an instant.

Bang!

Lin Hao fell back onto the cold concrete floor of his home, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his temples.

He gasped for breath, the thrilling scene he had just experienced replaying rapidly in his mind.

“High-agility, high-aggression insects have extremely strong resistance. With my current Spiritual Power strength and contract skill level, the success rate of forced contracting is extremely low, and the risk is enormous.”

He calmly analyzed and summarized.

After resting for about half an hour, feeling his Spiritual Power fully recovered, he said, “Insect Realm Shuttle!”

This time, the scene before him was completely different.

It was no longer a dark forest, but a vast, desolate, gray-toned plain.

The ground was cracked, with only a few sparse withered grasses trembling in the wind.

Before Lin Hao could carefully observe his surroundings, the sight in the distance made him gasp.

On the horizon, two behemoths were locked in a furious battle!

One was a snake-like segmented insect, its body composed of countless segments, probably thousands of meters long, causing the earth to rumble as it rolled and maneuvered.

Its opponents were several gigantic beetles, like armored tanks, their fangs clashing with the sound of metal on metal.

The aftermath of their battle stirred up strong winds, kicking up sand and stones everywhere.

Lin Hao instantly judged that this was not a level he could get involved in right now!

Even if he was grazed by just a tiny bit of the aftermath, he could instantly be reduced to dust.

He held his breath, concealing himself to the maximum extent, crawling on the ground like a rock, silently observing.

As soon as the five minutes were up, he transformed into a white light and returned again.

Only one more Insect Realm Shuttle opportunity remained.

Lin Hao sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and concentrating, fully recovering his Spiritual Power.

His expression remained calm, but his tightly pressed lips revealed the gravity in his heart.

The first two shuttles yielded nothing, instead making him more deeply aware of his own insignificance and the vast dangers of the Insect World.

This last chance could not be lost.

If he failed again, he would have no insects to use in the short term.

The martial arts examination and finding his sister would both become empty talk.

Having adjusted his state, he activated the Insect Realm Shuttle for the third and final time in this phase.

A scorching heatwave rushed at him, the air distorted by the high temperature.

Underfoot was dark, hard volcanic rock, and in the distance, a massive volcanic crater faintly glowed dark red, as if it could erupt at any moment.

This was a cluster of volcanoes where no life existed!

It was utterly silent, with no signs of life.

Time passed second by second. Four minutes had gone by, and Lin Hao’s Spiritual Power was once again almost depleted.

Yet he hadn’t even seen the shadow of a single insect.

Would this last chance also end in failure?

Even with Lin Hao’s temperament, a flicker of anxiety couldn’t help but cross his heart.

A beetle-like flying insect flew crookedly past Lin Hao.

Lin Hao suddenly felt a mysterious Spiritual Power attraction.

This beetle was about the size of a fist, with a hard shell.

It looked at Lin Hao curiously, without stopping, then continued to fly forward.

“I didn’t expect there to be insects surviving in such a harsh environment!”

However, this beetle didn’t look strong.

“Sigh, a single Insect Realm Shuttle opportunity, and I encounter such a weak insect?”

Should he catch it or not?

If he didn’t, he would definitely have to wait until Level 10 to have another chance.

There was no time to hesitate! Lin Hao immediately activated the Insect Contract on this seemingly harmless little beetle.

A Spiritual Power unique to an Insect Tamer easily merged into the beetle’s spiritual sea of consciousness.

There was no resistance.

A tiny, warm spiritual link was established in Lin Hao’s sea of consciousness.

The insect paused its flight, then, seemingly without much struggle, or rather, it was hazy, as if it had just woken up and wasn't quite sure what was happening.

Once Lin Hao contracted it, “Contract Successful,” it successfully became Lin Hao’s Pet Insect.

Back in reality, Lin Hao immediately looked at his side.

The dark golden beetle’s carapace shimmered with a subtle metallic luster under the faint light filtering through the window.

It was no longer hazy.

Now, up close, Lin Hao realized it was completely different from his hurried first impression.

Its body was about two palm-widths in size, not very large, but its carapace gleamed with a dark, cold light, covered in sinister runes, as if etched with the curses of hell.

In the compound eyes on either side of its head, there was a ball of eerily burning flame.

Its mandibles, like two curved scythes, made a soft, chilling “click-click” sound, as if foreshadowing the bloody slaughter to come.

“This… is the insect I contracted from the Insect World?”

At this moment, he could see the insect’s information:

“Gold-Devouring Insects, a wondrous insect born in ancient times, capable of devouring almost everything in heaven and earth, with extremely strong defense due to its hard carapace, impervious to water and fire.”

“Ancient wondrous insect? Gold-Devouring Insects?”