‘Zhar, what happened?’ Helzar questioned his oldest Spawn.

‘Lord, we found a haven full of food by accident,’ Zhar answered, calming Helzar down.

Before asking more questions, Helzar first had the Spawns to store the chunks of meat they were carrying in one of the chambers, before guiding the Motherbugs and Eaters to eat all the food.

Helzar didn't forget to have all the Spawnlings and eggs feast on the free meat.

‘Now, Zhar, what did you find?’

Zhar recounted his tale.

He was leading the army of eight thousand Spawns, while carrying a Motherbug on his back with the help of another Spawn. The Motherbug was already laying eggs, and the army was saving it for later.

‘Stop! We can't use the same tunnel again, it might expose our nest,’ Zhar linked with a few Spawns, whilst those Spawns linked with more Spawns. The chain continued, until all the Spawns received the message and halted.

‘Let’s dig a brand new tunnel,’ Zhar suggested.

‘How about going around the room?’ A Spawn suggested back. Zhar considered it, before agreeing with the Spawn.

Currently, they were in the walls, lurking like a bunch of evil spirits. Zhar took an hour before the army of Spawns reached the other side of Jason's room, and they immediately dug another hole through the wall. Luckily, there was an object covering the new entrance they dug.

‘It’s hot, like the streams of water from the “first garden,”’ Zhar commented. He had a few Spawns go out and scout the area, learning through them that Jason wasn't nearby.

‘Alright, let's go and find a suitable place to hide.’

Helzar's command wasn't to ambush Jason from one side, but rather to surround him, bite his feet, and have Zhar bring the Motherbug to Jason's wounds.

It wouldn't be easy, and luck would have to be on their side. Furthermore, they will no doubt have casualties, hence why Helzar sent eight thousand Spawns instead of the usual five.

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‘Hm?! The human is approaching! Quick, hide!’ Zhar ordered. The Spawns have bad vision and were nearsighted, but Zhar had the same vision as Helzar. He easily spotted Jason as he was walking toward them.

With his command, the army of Spawns that were exposed hid behind anything near them. On the other hand, Zhar was a bit more bold. He was hiding under the door of the refrigerator, which was Jason's destination.

Opening the refrigerator, Jason picked out a slice of porkchop and some vegetables, before gently closing the refrigerator.

‘Was that meat?’ Zhar wondered, commanding the Spawns to dig a tunnel to gain access to the refrigerator. They couldn't chew through the metallic and tough parts of the refrigerator, but they were able to chew on the elastic rubber gasket.

After chewing out a sufficiently large amount of the gasket, the Spawns invaded the refrigerator, taking out bits of flesh from the pork and chicken meat inside.

‘Our movements are becoming slower and slower the longer we stay in this place,’ Zhar noticed the effect of the cold, freezing temperature of the refrigerator. Currently, they were in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator, and the Spawns were moving like millipedes, instead of their usual speed.

‘Quickly, take out the bits of meat and get out!’ Zhar yelled out.

Soon, a few hours later, Zhar took all that he could and retreated toward the nest. He may not have fulfilled Helzar's desires, but he believes that with the amount of food he was bringing back home, it would be worth it.

It should be mentioned that when the Swarm hunts small rats or snakes in the apartment building, they cannot monopolize their prize for themselves. They can only take a bit of meat before another predator takes the free meat away from their grasp.

Finishing his tale, Zhar took a step back, presenting a piece of flesh to Helzar. Looking at the offering, Helzar praised Zhar before eating it. He was already “full,” with 100 Spawns worth of energy, but he still ate the chunk of meat to humor Zhar.

‘Zhar and the Spawns found a storage room. Zhar mentioned that it was cold inside, so it's likely a freezer.’

Judging from the amount of meat the Spawns brought back, Helzar made a calculated guess.

‘By tomorrow, the Swarm will double in number,’ Helzar looked forward to that moment. With twenty thousand Spawns working together, then the Swarm wouldn't have to bother Jason so desperately.

‘I can target the other humans in this building during their sleep… during their sleep…’ Helzar paused, his mind going blank.

‘Am I stupid?’

Looking at Zhar, he seemed to see the silhouette of a Motherbug on Zhar's back.

‘Humans that are asleep are the perfect target! I already had the means to do it, why didn't I do so before?!’

Helzar roared in frustration, before cackling madly in exhilaration. Of course, he was only opening his mandibles and making strange sounds on the outside, his laughter was stuck inside his mind.

‘Zhar, go and bring an army of one thousand Spawns and plant Motherbugs into the bodies of those humans. I want you to infect all the humans, but avoid that bastard.’

The “bastard” he was referring to couldn't be anyone other than Jason. Jason was too lucky, always waking up before the Spawns could come near him without fail!

‘Is he some sort of Foreseer? I doubt it. The human realm has too little Arcane Energy to give birth to a Foreseer.’

Helzar shook his head, unwilling to think about Jason any further.

‘With an endless supply of food, even if the Motherbugs laid thousands of eggs per day, all the eggs will be healthy and survive into adulthood.’

+++-+++-+++

The night sky envelops the planet of humans silently, the stars observing its life from the cosmos. The silver moon hung above the parting clouds, shining down pleasant and ominous light upon the human world.

Night has fallen, and the creatures of doomsday have risen.

Crawling onto the bedsheets of slumbering humans, tiny bugs swarmed the human’s arm, before opening their mandibles.

CUT!

The swarm of bugs didn't bite down on the human's arm. In fact, only the one with blue patterns on its exoskeleton bit on the human's skin. After drawing blood, one of the insects with a bloated abdomen crawled under the human's skin, burrowing deep under the human's flesh.

Inside, it would lay its eggs, slowly and silently accumulating numbers, waiting for the time to rejoin the Swarm.

Tonight, a lethal supper had ensued, though the fruits will take time to bloom.