Ending

Locusts converged into a torrent and flew over the forest, just like the scene shown in System's bloodline.

Perhaps they would also leap over rivers and lakes, jump over mountains, and even reach the snow-covered highlands.

However, none of that mattered anymore…

After following the grasshopper queen for about ten minutes, System's speed slowed down and finally stopped. After all, the path that he was going to take was different from them.

System stared at Quin's figure until it was blurry. Then, he returned to the all-familiar forest.

"The grasshoppers destroyed the plants around, it looks like I have to find a new foraging site again. It's a pity that the warehouse where the food is stored is going to be abandoned. But anyway, I can find a similar one. I wonder if Quin's trip will be the same as she expected, hope that everything goes well for her…"

After dispelling his sentimental thoughts, System shook his head and flew down the forest.

As usual, System activated [Information Reading] to scout around. He found that there were hundreds of ants on the ground, tearing at the corpse of a rat. System jumped over as this was the first rat he had seen since the rainstorm.

This rat looked fresh and should have just died not long ago. Apparently, this rat had survived the heavy rain.

System wanted to snatch some rat flesh from the ants, but at that moment, a peaceful and quiet scent came from afar—that was the direction in which the grasshoppers converged.

Upon feeling this peaceful scent, which was very similar to nature, a figure came to System's mind—the old Druid!

With this special scent, the trills of cicadas suddenly stopped.

System saw a blue dragonfly, resting on a plant's leaf bud not far away, suddenly fly in the direction of that peaceful scent.

Meanwhile, hundreds of reddish-brown ants on the ground near the rat corpse became confused. They wanted to head to the peaceful scent's source but were unwilling to give up the food they had found.

This peaceful scent had a powerful attraction to bugs. It was a dozen times stronger than the scent that the grasshopper queen secreted.

"Old Druid? What does he want?"

System jumped to the tip of a branch, and an unusual green glow appeared in the distant forest in System's blurred vision.

"What's that?"

System hesitated for a moment, but he still spread his wings and flew toward the green light.

After a few minutes, the locust swarm that had previously flown away became clear again in his eyes.

Countless grasshoppers, dragonflies, cicadas, and butterfly-like flying insects surrounded a giant green ball with a diameter of about ten meters.

The grasshoppers formed a torrent of tornadoes that flew wildly around the light ball while they exuded untold emotions of excitement.

They again had their revelry, which was even more intense than last time.

While surrounding the green light ball and sucking its energy, the grasshoppers became more excited and flew faster.

This light ball also attracted System, making him want to fly over.

By devouring the energy of this light ball, could he become more agile like the other grasshoppers?

System was ready to fly over and have a taste of that green energy. But he stopped out of sudden when he had spread his wings halfway.

He had noticed the figure below the green light ball.

He saw the old Druid's emotionless look, which was completely different from how he had been smiling when he had rescued the big bird.

For an instant, System was stunned and then enlightened.

System knew why the old Druid had given him a strange feeling the second time he had encountered him. Underneath the injured bird that the old Druid had rescued, there had actually been two other ants that had also been severely injured.

The old Druid had chosen to ignore the injured ants while rescuing the bird.

Humans liked to choose cats and dogs as their pets, and might even see others as scum when they mistreated their pets. However, they could kill flies and mosquitoes without feeling guilty.

After putting himself in the old Druid's shoes, System suddenly understood what he was doing.

In the old Druid's mind, grasshoppers were perhaps not one of the creatures in nature that were worth caring for, but rather the ones that would destroy nature!

If the nature and the duty of Druids were to guard the harmony of nature, then this Druid's intention was clear enough.

This green light ball with a ten-meter diameter was something similar to the grass and wood aroma that slimes emitted—it was a trap!!

…

"But they just wanted to explore this vast world!"

In System's sight, several skinny grasshoppers drifted down from the sky as they had lost their strength. They fell like snowflakes with their wings spread. The rest of the grasshoppers were unaware and lost in their revelry…

Resentment, loneliness, hatred, or maybe some other emotions filled System's mind.

System looked at the old Druid with a completely different feeling.

[Information Reading]!

A blue glow seemed to flicker in System's compound eyes as he searched for Quin. If there was someone who could stop the grasshoppers from killing themselves, that would be Quin.

As System was searching for Quin, a figure charged at him with great speed and held him firmly with the foot limbs.

Before System could find Quin, she found him first and grabbed him.

Quin was very fast, and even though she was holding System, her flying speed was two or three times as fast as System's full speed.

She led System away from the green light ball as fast as she could…

"Don't… go closer, that green light… it's dangerous…" Quin sent a message, which was full of worry.

"Dangerous? Are you…"

Quin did not respond to System but grasped him to escape. As Quin continued to fly, System felt her body twitch from time to time, and the frequency was increasing.

Apparently, Quin had fallen into the old Druid's trap like the falling grasshoppers.

System struggled hard, but there was no way to break free from Quin's foot limbs.

The frequency of Quin's twitch increased, and she slowed down after a few minutes.

Finally, she could no longer fly, and the two of them fell from the sky to the ground.

Even as they fell, Quin's foot limbs gripped System tightly.

System twisted his body again, only to find a strange power surge toward him from Quin suddenly.

A sensation of numbness came from his body, which was similar to the sensation when he leveled up but was a bit different.

This mysterious power seemed to act on his spirit.

Images appeared in System's mind. The view came from a small and withered yellow-colored grasshopper. Unlike System, this small grasshopper's eyesight was much better. It could even see the subtle changes of the clouds in the sky.

From escaping from an ant's mandibles shortly after birth to eating leaf buds to grow, this small grasshopper's experience reminded System of the cautions life he had when he had just awoken.

This small grasshopper often looked up at the clouds and liked to jump to the tops of trees to look around even if a bird nearly killed it…

The images continued to appear, and just in a few breaths, System had watched the grasshopper's experience of a few months.

At the end of it, System saw himself, a green-tailed grasshopper that always liked to shake his antennae while thinking.

System was able to feel the heroine of the images, Quin's surging emotions when she looked at him…

By the end of the transmission of the images, Quin's foot limbs grasping on System slowly loosened.

System's EXP bar somehow reached the peak of Level 10, and he acquired a special ability, [Mind Transmission], as well as a derived ability, called [Spirit Connection]

…

[Mind Transmission] (6/22): A special gift given to System by Quin. The ability to communicate with all things, and to transmit part of the special power.

[Spirit Connection] (6/11): Derived Ability obtained by [Mind Transmission]. Allows you to connect spiritually with the other party, and give them the ability to temporarily communicate with you.

…

Quin's body twitched slightly. Several of her limbs were no longer able to move, leaving only one of her antennae turning toward System. However, she could not reach System no matter how hard she tried.

System reached over and touched Quin's antenna with his—he knew that she wanted this.

System used his newly acquired [Spirit Connection] and connected his spirit with Quin's again.

"…Failed to see, that vast world…"

Quin's golden compound eyes darkened as she stared at the clouds in the sky and let out a soft sigh. Then, she looked at System.

"Can you help me with one thing…"

System answered immediately, "Yes, as long as I can do it."

"I know you, like to eat meat, so eat me, and bring me to see…"

With a breeze, Quin's antennae drooped down, and her body became utterly still…

"You…"

System tried to send a message using [Spirit Connection], but there was no longer a receiver at the other end.

His body somehow started trembling slightly, and all sorts of inexplicable emotions could not help but surge out of his heart.

System tried hard to stop his body from trembling and slowly aimed his mandibles at Quin's body as she said. Opened, closed, opened again, then closed again, and so on…

System realized that he was unable to do this.

Finally, he moved his mandibles.

He used his mandibles and foot limbs to dig into the ground!

He was going to bury her body…