Chapter 398: The Extraordinary Mealworm's Metamorphosis: A Stunning Beetle

"Boss, you're back!"

When Yu Yuan appeared on the underground fourth level of the shelter, Dale was extremely surprised.

He and Simon were currently squatting in the Insect Breeding Room.

"What are you two doing, so completely absorbed?"

Yu Yuan walked forward with a smile and saw Dale grinning widely, letting out a hearty chuckle.

"Boss, the mealworms have hatched!"

Hmm?

Yu Yuan was somewhat surprised and immediately leaned in closer. He took the magnifying glass Dale handed over and began to examine.

Indeed, the previously dense clusters of tiny eggs had all hatched. One by one, tiny mealworms wriggled under the magnifying lens.

Although Yu Yuan was no longer short on survival supplies now, especially after obtaining the portal, he definitely wouldn't lack resources.

But as a crucial link in the ecological system he had started cultivating and building from his humble beginnings, he held a special sentiment towards it.

Now, looking at this newly hatched batch of mealworms, his sense of accomplishment was also overflowing.

"Excellent! These mealworms look quite vigorous. Also..."

Yu Yuan thought of something and paused for a moment.

"Dale, our previous plan needs to be revised again. In another world, we have acquired other channels for obtaining grains. Perhaps the scale of mealworm breeding can continue to expand."

"Don't worry about grains, go all out. Although we no longer need to worry about food now, as the number of civilization followers increases, re-establishing a food production line is an inevitable outcome."

"At that time, the powdered form of these dried mealworms will be an important source of protein and fat for us. So, just be bold and do it!"

Hearing this, Dale's eyes instantly lit up.

For a researcher, what could be rarer than encountering a generous boss who fully supports you?

Yu Yuan raised his hand to quiet Dale and continued, "All of this is just temporary. After the breeding numbers of mealworms increase later, I will assign dedicated personnel to handle these breeding and drying tasks."

"At that time, your task will only be one: to wholeheartedly research the mealworms, study how to make these little guys more nutritious, their flesh plumper, and their growth rate faster."

Dale no longer knew how to describe his current feelings.

He only knew to stand there grinning foolishly.

Even Simon showed an expression of envy.

He knew exactly how obsessed Dale was with mealworms. Whenever he finished his work on the fourth underground level, Dale's favorite place to be was this Insect Breeding Room.

And just as Dale was immersed in happiness, a crisp "crack" sound rang out in the room.

The expressions on the faces of Yu Yuan and the other two all froze for a moment.

Their gazes collectively turned towards the direction of the sound.

A single breeding box sat isolated over there.

That was...

That special mealworm that had pupated?

"Crack..."

The crisp sound rang out again.

This time, Yu Yuan didn't hesitate. He immediately went to the breeding box, with Dale and Simon closely following behind.

Both of them knew the importance of this special mealworm. A huge sum had been spent to cultivate it back then.

Under the watchful eyes of the three, cracks began to appear on the limestone-colored pupa. With the continuously sounding "crack" noises, the cracks grew larger and larger.

And in Yu Yuan's perception, a surging and turbulent wave of Spiritual Energy began to leak out from the pupa as the cracks appeared.

So pure, such pure Spiritual Energy.

So much so that his Positioning Watch automatically lit up, absorbing the pure Spiritual Energy dissipating from the pupa.

The surprise in Yu Yuan's eyes intensified even more.

What an unexpected harvest like this. In just a few seconds, the collection progress of the Spirit Collector had increased by 1%.

This was one percent!

It was already equivalent to the dissipated energy Yu Yuan could collect from killing a single Bronze-tier creature.

And now it was achieved so easily?

Yu Yuan could hardly believe it.

He even wished the little guy's birth could be slower, so he could collect more dissipated energy.

But clearly, his thought was too naive.

Soon, a fragment of the pupal case began to fall off, and a leg popped out from within.

A flash of blue-white light flickered within the pupa.

Then came the second leg, the third leg.

At some point, all three of them held their breath.

As if afraid of affecting the little guy's birth.

The corner of Yu Yuan's mouth gradually curled up.

"It's coming out... it's coming out..."

By the time the little guy finally crawled out of the pupa, the Positioning Watch had already collected 4% of dissipated energy.

Truly exaggerated.

The little guy had just escaped the pupa. Its body was still soft, all wrinkled up. This was the most fragile and critical moment for the little guy.

Only after the new exoskeleton on its body surface reacted with the air and hardened would the true metamorphosis be complete.

Originally, the hardening of a beetle's shell would take at least several hours to several days to complete.

But clearly, the little fellow before them was not in that category.

On the Combat Detector, its life level had already reached Bronze-tier.

And after leaving the pupa, its body rapidly changed. The surface of its body visibly hardened, and its color quickly transformed as well.

The originally wrinkled body rapidly expanded, soon swelling to half the size of a fist, and it was still continuing.

It also excreted some reddish-brown liquid from underneath. Dale immediately explained.

"Boss, this is meconium. It can be considered metabolic waste!"

Yu Yuan nodded slightly.

Finally, under the gaze of the three, an hour passed.

As the completely hardened elytra spread to both sides, revealing the membranous wings inside that hadn't yet fully formed... As bodily fluids pumped into the wing's vascular veins, the folded and compressed wings slowly spread open like a fan.

Gradually extending, smoothing out, and finally drying and setting.

Yu Yuan felt like he was watching the creation of a piece of art.

As the wings retracted back under the elytra, the little guy's eclosion was completely over.

A creature already completely different from before appeared before the three of them.

Yu Yuan's eyes were filled with amazement.

Because... it was really too beautiful.

"This... it's too incredible... What principle is this..." Dale couldn't quite figure it out.

It wasn't surprising that Dale was amazed.

Because the insect before him completely overturned all his understanding.

Originally, adult mealworms should look like small black beetles.

But this special adult before them, although still a beetle, had undergone a dramatic change in appearance.

In Yu Yuan's view, it even resembled a rhinoceros beetle more than a mealworm beetle.

On the position of its pronotum, a thick, large horn had grown, its tip branching out in an antler-like shape.

This large horn was like a long halberd, majestic and imposing.

The top of its head had also grown a shorter, branching horn, though this one was much smaller.

But when combined with that large horn, it instead created a unique aesthetic.

It had quite a look of violent beauty.

This was also why Yu Yuan felt it resembled a rhinoceros beetle more, because these two horns were very similar to a rhinoceros beetle's horns.

But aside from that large horn, what Yu Yuan liked most was the little guy's color scheme.

It simply matched Yu Yuan's taste perfectly.

Its body was a crystalline blue, dotted with golden specks.

That large horn and its six legs were black.

Finally, the center of its back elytra and the small horn on the top of its head were blood red.

The combination of blue, black, and red was quite stunning.

At this moment, the little guy raised its head, spread the elytra on its back, and fluttered its wings. Its body, which had swollen to the size of a fist, actually flew up just like that.

It flew into the air, circled around the three of them, paused in front of Dale for a few seconds, but finally came to Yu Yuan.

It landed on the palm Yu Yuan extended.

And information about the little guy also popped up on the Virtual Light Screen...