Spotty wasn't aiming to excavate corpses of his kind; he merely carved out a small space beneath the rocks to serve as a new nest, intending to make it his permanent residence.

"Rest, rest..."

Spotty found communicating with the cockroach mother quite challenging. It took repeating the same message ten times before she would comply.

Seeing the cockroach mother finally agree to stop and rest, Spotty asked, "Hungry?"

"Not hungry."

The cockroach mother's immediate response conveyed her contentment. It seemed that being with her son made her happy.

However, Spotty didn't share her joy. He hastily left the nest, searching nearby for decaying leaves to cut and swiftly returned with them in his mouth.

"Eat."

Spotty conveyed the message without waiting for the cockroach mother's response, then hurried out again to cut more leaves, continuing until the entire nest was layered with them.

After feasting on ample meat the previous night and on many leaves now, Spotty was on the verge of molting. Suppressing his drowsiness, he ate more leaves and repeatedly warned the cockroach mother not to dig up the bodies below for food. Only after receiving reassurance did he finally drift into a peaceful sleep.

During his slumber, inherited knowledge about survival in the jungle filled his soul: be cautious during the day and never venture out alone at night; eat soft, rotten leaves instead of fresh ones; exercise after eating to grow faster; scavenge other insects' corpses for protein; avoid eating rotten meat—it's poisonous; the sooner you complete 18 molts, the greater your chance of becoming a Red Roach Tribe warrior. These survival techniques, engraved in the race's genes, resurfaced with each molt.

"5th molt!"

Feeling himself growing stronger, Spotty was elated. He surveyed his surroundings again.

He slept the entire day, his molt lasting a full cycle of daylight and into the night. By the time night fell, the nest was filled with a thick layer of rotten leaves, likely brought in by the cockroach mother while he slept.

Now, she was nowhere to be found. She had more than just Spotty, an immature son, to care for—she also had nearly a hundred juvenile daughters to look after.

"Sigh..."

Spotty felt a sense of powerlessness. Cockroaches, though simple-minded, couldn't understand the significance of the Force fruit. Even if Spotty could explain, the cockroach mother likely wouldn't comprehend.

Spotty ate some dried leaves, then started chewing on his discarded exoskeleton. The nutrients stored within the shell were recycled to fuel his next molt.

At the same time, he felt his cell activity increasing noticeably. Unlike before, his brain didn't immediately suffer cell death and become sluggish when pondering complex issues. The reason was simple: the Force fruit contained powerful forces that promoted genetic evolution and had a special ability to modify cells. Spotty deduced from observing the Red Roach Tribe warriors eating the fruit that it could enhance cell activity, akin to genetic rejuvenation.

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Ordinary cockroaches couldn't consume the Force fruit directly; even a tiny bit would lead to cell modification they couldn't withstand. However, after the fruit ripened, if there wasn't a specific way to preserve it, the contained forces would gradually dissipate. By burying the bodies, a weak "radiation field" formed, capable of mildly and gently modifying genes within the range acceptable to ordinary cockroaches.

Spotty decided to build a nest beneath the stone to improve his own genetics and, hopefully, help the cockroach mother slightly reverse her aging, allowing her to survive the harsh winter.

Unfortunately, the cockroach mother couldn't understand Spotty's intentions. Driven by instinct, she returned to the mountain where her daughters congregated.

"The effect should last for about a day. Should I bring her back?"

Spotty finished eating his discarded shell, stepped out of the nest, and observed the surroundings.

The Red Roach Tribe warrior still lounged beside the raspberry bushes, leisurely cutting up a snake-like creature's corpse. It seemed to enjoy eating snakes, with two more beheaded corpses nearby.

Thousands of adult cockroaches formed a circle nearby, eagerly waiting. Whenever snake skins or bones with meat attached were tossed out, they swarmed, frenziedly devouring the scraps.

Spotty could sense the strong desire for transformation among the young and strong adult cockroaches. He also noticed the warrior's deliberate actions, tossing out more meat to feed the weaker members, hoping to produce more warriors like itself.

After careful observation, Spotty abandoned the idea of joining the feeding frenzy. In such fierce competition, even with all his vigor, as a 5th molt juvenile, he had no chance.

He returned to the nest, quietly gnawing on dry leaves. After eating his fill, he left the nest, climbed along the stones, and practiced gliding down, repeatedly depleting his energy before returning to eat. This routine continued throughout the night.

As the moon hung high, approaching dawn, Spotty prepared to search for the cockroach mother, who had returned on

her own.

"Inside, inside..."

"Eat, eat, eat..."

Spotty urged the cockroach mother to eat and rest inside the nest.

Realizing there was too little meat left and knowing she couldn't compete with the younger adult cockroaches, the cockroach mother, without hesitation, entered the nest and, as Spotty requested, ate some leaves. But then she became restless and started digging the soil, still remembering the buried corpses of over twenty cockroaches and wanting to dig them up to eat.

With a limited language and low intelligence, it was challenging to communicate. Spotty repeatedly released danger signals to stop her actions, but she remained puzzled.

"Danger, danger..."

Spotty grew anxious.

Finally, the cockroach mother abandoned her digging and headed out of the nest.

"Rest, rest..."

Spotty intercepted her, continuing to convey the message.

Once again, the cockroach mother seemed confused.

"Rest, rest..."

Spotty persisted, blocking the nest's entrance, not allowing her to leave.

After a moment of agitation, the cockroach mother finally followed Spotty's instructions and rested in the nest.

Spotty feared she might rush out to eat snake meat again. If she got injured again, there would be no hope. So, he blocked the entrance completely.

Exhausted from aging and a long journey, the cockroach mother finally calmed down and stopped attempting to dig up corpses or leave the nest, resting silently until dawn.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Spotty left the nest's entrance and approached, checking the cockroach mother's healed leg. The wound had long since closed, fortunately showing no signs of infection.

Examining her shell closely, Spotty noticed it was still dull and lacked luster, showing no signs of improvement.

Feeling disheartened, Spotty realized that the Force fruit's cell-enhancing effects were limited and couldn't reverse aging. There was no turning back.