He decided not to stay there any longer and immediately headed back with the two Ten-Tiered Giant Mantises.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the cave platform, Zhou Qi heard a “thump” sound like a shark entering water, followed by what sounded like the wail of some unknown creature…

“What was that sound?” Zhou Qi’s expression changed, and he moved closer to where the sound came from.

The two accompanying Ten-Tiered Giant Mantises assumed a combat stance, ready to deliver a fatal blow if there was danger.

Footsteps “tap, tap, tap” echoed, and as Zhou Qi got closer, the sound became clearer.

“Is anyone there?” The strange sound rang out again, and the overall noise was very unsettling to hear.

But Zhou Qi still heard it clearly: deep within the cave, thousands of meters underground, someone was speaking.

At this moment, Zhou Qi felt a chill down his spine, and his hair stood on end; it felt as if an invisible large hand was repeatedly pressing on his heart.

Zhou Qi sharply shined his flashlight forward, revealing a lake ahead, its dark environment stretching beyond the reach of the light.

Along the edge of the lake, many jagged strange rocks blocked the water from flowing out of the lake.

Zhou Qi took a closer look, his eyes widening slightly, his pupils contracting.

From a distance, and due to the extreme darkness, under the flashlight, a humanoid creature was resting its head on a strange rock, continuously uttering, “Is anyone there?”

It sounded like a male duck’s voice, heavily straining its vocal cords, and its words were indistinct, but faintly discernible.

Zhou Qi swallowed, thinking, “This is too bizarre. If I really went over there, I’d be a fool.”

Thinking this, Zhou Qi picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it hard towards the strange person.

“Plink,” the first pebble was thrown but missed.

However, the strange person was startled by the movement and stopped making sounds.

“Thud,” when the second pebble landed, the strange person was not so lucky; it hit its head directly.

At this, the strange person seemed to be enraged.

In Zhou Qi’s eyes, the strange person’s head lifted from the rock wall it was resting on, rising higher and higher, followed by the appearance of an incredibly long neck.

The lake surface continuously rippled, and one after another, strange human heads emerged, a total of nine of them.

What was bizarre was that the nine necks were connected to a single body.

In the dark cave, the monster slowly emerged.

Nine human heads with slender necks were irregularly arranged on a thick neck.

Some had their eyes tightly shut, twisted in pain; others had their eyes wide open in fury, filled with resentment.

Each human head had a different skin tone: some were as pale as paper, others were bruised purple, and their hair tangled like wriggling black snakes.

Its body was like a rhinoceros, with bulging muscles covered in rough, wrinkled dark gray scales, emitting a foul odor.

Its thick limbs were like giant pillars, but its feet were webbed like a frog’s toes.

“Damn, what the hell is that?” As soon as the monster raised its neck, Zhou Qi got up and hurried back.

No one would willingly face unknown danger. This wasn’t a game where you could instantly see the opponent’s Rank. Who knew if his dependents could defeat the opponent?

If they could defeat it, great, but if not, and he lost his life here, it wouldn’t be worth it.

The monster chased for a while, watched Zhou Qi slowly run away, let out a bizarre human wail of unwillingness, and then turned back and plunged into the water.

Zhou Qi ran all the way to the entrance of the cave platform before slowing down, feeling his heart pounding heavily like a drum.

“It seems this monster cannot leave the water for too long,” Zhou Qi mused.

This place is too strange. The environment is pitch black, and there’s this bizarre thing. It’s better to leave as soon as possible.

Zhou Qi did not stop along the way. After a while, looking at the faint light above his head, he finally emerged.

After walking out of the cave, although it was already close to evening, Zhou Qi felt relieved.

This world seems peaceful, but in some unknown places, there truly exist some unknown lives.

............

October 21, 2016

Current Evolution Points: 98800.

At this time, it was the first day since returning from the underground cave.

Zhou Qi had a nightmare that night, dreaming of those eerie human heads pouncing on him, and he barely slept all night.

Even now, thinking about it still felt bizarre, so Zhou Qi opened his phone to relieve his emotions.

Seeing that the chat history had reached 99+, he opened his phone to check.

It turned out that the group chat application for the “Great Dragon Country Insect Exchange Conference,” which Li Ruhai had invited him to, had been approved.

Zhou Qi opened it and watched as group members discussed with each other.

One by one, rare insects were sent by them.

There was the “Titans Longhorn Beetle,” known as the world’s largest longhorn beetle, whose video showed its body could entirely cover a group member’s palm.

There was the Golden Birdwing Butterfly, known as the “Queen of Butterflies,” and the Galapagos Giant Centipede, the largest known Centipede in the world, nearly half a meter long…

The variety was endless.

Zhou Qi felt he could open an insect museum.

Scrolling down, there were also messages about insects being sought after, with two people discussing addresses for purchases.

Scrolling further down to the latest message, it was a video posted by someone named Xiao Xi, featuring a firefly called a Dark-winged Firefly.

In the dark transparent box, dozens of Dark-winged Fireflies emitted light that faintly illuminated the entire box.

Zhou Qi suddenly thought, in such a confined and dark environment like the underground cave, should he also enhance a luminous insect to see if it could illuminate that dim underground environment?

Zhou Qi was a person of strong action. As soon as the thought came to him, he added the friend named Xiao Xi.

In a short while, the friend request was accepted.

“Hello, I would like to purchase some of the fireflies you posted. Are they for sale?” Zhou Qi asked, getting straight to the point.

“Yes, but it’s best to pick them up in person. If sent by express, the insects might not survive the journey. I’m in Yingtian City, so if you’re close, you can come and get them,” the other party replied.

“That’s great! I’m also in Yingtian. Send me your address, and I’ll come over today,” Zhou Qi said, a little surprised.

After they settled the details.

Zhou Qi set off. The address was a farm in the suburbs of Yingtian City, only a dozen kilometers from Zhou Qi’s location.

In no time.

Zhou Qi arrived by car.

This was a farm with many pear and apple trees. Pears from Yingtian are quite famous nationwide.

Zhou Qi looked around but didn’t see anyone in the yard, so he called Xiao Xi. The call connected shortly.

“Hello, I’m already outside the yard,” Zhou Qi said truthfully.

“Oh, okay, please wait a moment, I’ll be right there,” a clear female voice replied from the other end of the phone.

…