Once a warrior of the Human Clan in the Galactic Federation, Brab had undergone rigorous military training, possessing an iron will to fight. Even facing death, he was determined to give these two wretched woodpeckers a lesson before his demise.

Brab huddled in the top corner of the tree nest, raising his forelimbs and gathering strength in his hind legs, intending to rush out at the first moment the nest was pecked open, launching a preemptive attack. Though his claws were sharp, they were too small to pierce through the woodpecker's feathers. Even if he managed to pierce through, it would only result in superficial wounds. He had to aim for the eyes.

Brab planned to take advantage of their unpreparedness, intending to blind one of the woodpeckers before his demise. If successful, his death would be far more dignified.

"Coo! Coo!"

Suddenly, the woodpecker's cries echoed outside the nest.

"Coo-coo-coo..."

A mournful wail.

The pecking sound on the tree trunk abruptly ceased.

Brab was surprised. After waiting for a moment, he mustered up his courage and peered outside through the pecked opening, only to see a brown-black scaled body slowly gliding out of the hole.

Snake scales?

Or a jungle python?

The piercing cries indicated that one of the woodpeckers had been ambushed and preyed upon!

"Coo-coo, coo-coo..."

Angry cries accompanied by the sound of fluttering wings swiftly receded into the distance.

Moments later, the python slid down the tree trunk.

The jungle returned to calm.

Brab cautiously emerged from the nest, quickly scanning the surroundings before retreating back inside. There was no sign of the woodpeckers, nor did he know the whereabouts of the python. The deadly crisis had been averted.

The nest where he had taken refuge was riddled with holes from the woodpecker's pecking. Brab dared not venture out easily, anxiously enduring until nightfall before taking the risk to leave. He swiftly climbed down to the lower layers of the mountains, finding a new insect nest, killing the beetle larvae inside, satisfying his hunger, and estimating that there was no immediate danger. He then fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, he woke up, feeling refreshed, and began to contemplate. Without the protection of the Red Roach tribe warriors, the cockroaches living in the mountains would attract a large number of predators. He had to relocate, moving away from the troubled area!

Thinking so, he immediately took action as the timing seemed right.

Descending from the mountains, he delved into the vast jungle, running swiftly in one direction. A swift-flowing river blocked his path. It could be a stream coming down from the mountains, but due to his current diminutive size, it appeared exceptionally broad, becoming an insurmountable barrier.

Dawn was approaching.

Brab climbed up a tall tree, standing at the treetop to observe. He had maintained a sufficient distance from the mountains here, with only a faint blue shadow in his sight.

"Have I escaped the danger zone?"

"The sky is brightening, dawn is approaching, I must lay low."

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Brab pondered, beginning to search through the forest, looking for tree trunks eaten by beetle larvae. He planned to repeat his previous strategy, killing and consuming the insects inside, occupying the nests, slowly feeding on all the insects on the trees, then moving to another tree, continuing this relatively safe nomadic life...

But then he realized something was amiss: "What if the woodpeckers target me again? I almost became bird food yesterday."

"And burrowing underground like ordinary cockroaches isn't safe either. Predators like snakes and rodents can easily dig in upon detecting the scent."

For Brab, endowed with human intelligence, this wasn't much of a challenge. After some consideration, he decided to find a sufficiently large tree with sturdy branches and leaves to rely on, dig into the soil beneath it, and create a nest.

Taking advantage of his small size, the sturdy roots of the tree could effectively block invaders.

During the search, Brab stumbled upon an even more ideal refuge—a black giant rock standing in the jungle!

He tested it with his claws; it was sturdy enough.

Surveying the surroundings, he noticed a small patch of grass next to the giant rock, with dense primeval trees nearby, undoubtedly abundant with insects weaker than himself. There was no need to worry about food.

A perfect place to settle!

Without further hesitation, he began to dig beneath the giant rock, putting in considerable effort to carve out a passage, creating a space to dwell in.

Resting until noon, he continued to dig deeper into the rock.

Brab's awareness of the impending metamorphosis grew clearer with each passing day. The demand for food increased, and he felt increasingly lethargic.

After a hearty meal, he would feel drowsy, and upon awakening, he'd be ravenous, needing a large amount of food.

The 19th molting marked the transition from a normal lifeform to a prime lifeform, a leap in genetic evolution, and the period of hibernation was likely to be lengthy.

Brab had to ensure absolute safety during his slumber.

Due to the sloping design of the nest along the rock, and considering the possibility of rainwater flooding, he decided to dig a distance inward, then abruptly turn downwards, creating a three-dimensional "N" shape.

The first lowest point was widened to allow rainwater to seep deeper underground, named the "drainage reservoir"; the first highest point could serve as a dry storage room for food; the second lowest point could serve as a hiding chamber in case of danger, stocked with leaf fragments for emergencies.

The monumental excavation project took nearly half a month to complete, and the "safe haven" was finally established.

Brab could no longer hold out. He nestled in the deepest chamber, falling into a deep sleep...

... "Boom boom boom..."

The thunderous roar shook the earth as if the whole world was trembling.

"I am... Brab, human? Cockroach? A branch of the Flying Fire Roach tribe, the Red Roach tribe, a warrior..."

Brab woke up.

Weak and dehydrated, his mind was foggy, and he felt disoriented.

Almost instinctively, he began to chew on the leaves inside the nest, consuming all the stored tree leaves in the storage chamber, finally feeling a bit better as his energy was replenished, and his consciousness slightly restored.

"Success?!"

"Almost a failure!"

"The thunder woke me up, otherwise I would have slept until death."

Sorting out the situation took a toll on his mental faculties, causing a splitting headache.

Brab felt an unprecedented weakness, akin to recovering from a severe illness. His physical strength returned, but his nutritional reserves were extremely depleted. He felt like he was an empty shell, with his organs and muscles all...

It was an uncomfortable feeling, as if he had been hollowed out, leaving only an exoskeleton, unable to muster any strength.

"Food! I urgently need food!"

Brab struggled to climb up to the storage chamber.

He didn't know how much time had passed or what he had experienced during that period. Before falling asleep, Brab

deliberately hunted and killed three beetle larvae, drying and storing them. Now they had rotted and become completely inedible.

Checking the drainage reservoir, he found it in a terrible state. The rainwater from the flooding was slowly rising and was about to flood into the storage chamber.

"Spring rains shouldn't be this fierce, could it be... summer?"

Combining the temperature, Brab roughly confirmed that his 19th molting had lasted for more than a month, from the thick of spring to the summer.

"Early summer? Midsummer? Or has it gone straight to late summer and the rainy season?"

Brab thought, feeling a wave of fear.

Once, as a human, he had undergone similar genetic evolutions through cultivation and had experienced several similar hibernations. However, there was a stark difference: humans had advanced technology, with specialized nutrient chambers for each evolution. Professional technicians monitored various body data around the clock, fine-tuning nutrient supply with intelligent systems. It was easy and quick to complete the evolution.

Now reduced to a cockroach, with no technological assistance or external nutrient supply, undergoing genetic evolution became extremely perilous. Each molting was a matter of life and death.

This time, Brab could be considered successful, or he could be considered to have failed. He was just a hair's breadth away from never waking up again, almost losing his life in his sleep, saved from the brink of death by the roaring thunder.