CHAPTER 439: CHAPTER 407: EVOLUTION

"So... that’s how it is."

The Divine Calamity infected entity controlled Jose’s head and spoke, with the intervals between words getting shorter and more fluent.

"I answered your question, so you should answer mine."

Seeing that the other party didn’t show strong hostility for the time being, Li Cheng squinted slightly, "You’re not a player?"

"’Player’ is a term you humans use, the more accurate term should be Summoner."

Jose’s eyes rolled back as he spoke unknowingly, "I am not a Summoner; this identity is both an opportunity and an eternal... prison."

"Understood."

Li Cheng nodded. Indeed, those veteran players from [Side of Truth] have been able to ascend from mere mortals to beings with god-like powers in less than five years, capable of cosplaying as deities and exploring half-planes.

Their rate of progress is beyond catching a rocket—it’s akin to riding a superluminal spaceship.

There’s quite a feeling of:

Chapter One: Climbing Taishan with classmates.

Chapter One Thousand: I, the Heavenly Emperor, suppress all enemies in the world.

Chapter One: Liu Laolao visits Grand View Garden, experiencing passion for the first time.

Chapter One Thousand: End and heat death, restarting the universe.

But at the same time, among the many players, only a handful like those from the Side of Truth have reached the summit, while the rest have become stepping stones.

To say the least, even if the players possess boundless power, they are still unable to escape the constraints of the killing field, always at risk of sudden death.

The Divine Calamity infected entity, capable of absorbing the genes of other creatures to enhance itself, with infinite evolution, is indeed unnecessary to become a Summoner fighting at the tip of the blade.

"You’re not a Summoner, which means you normally live within the entity of the killing field."

Li Cheng asked, "Are there others like you in the killing field?"

The infection effect of the Insect Lord Demon spreads like a plague, often infecting native creatures of the killing field, which are then captured by guilds like Prometheus.

However, most infected entities evolve to a lesser degree, and those like the red beetle, possessing high intelligence and formidable power, are extremely rare.

"Yes."

The Divine Calamity infected entity controlling Jose’s head said, "We set traps, wait patiently, lure, locate, track each other over the long term, find opponents, and then devour them."

"To enhance yourself?"

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow. He still maintained his human appearance and had not used the Liangyi Blade to cut and switch to his insect form.

Even so, he could feel every cell in his body screaming for him to kill the infected entity in front, devour its flesh and drink its blood, and plunder the evolutionary remnants it had accumulated over time.

This is a primal instinct rooted in his genes, much like a monkey unable to resist the allure of peaches.

"It’s not just about enhancing oneself."

The Divine Calamity infected entity corrected, "There can only be one Insect Master, and there must be one Insect Master."

"What do you mean?"

Li Cheng instantly realized that the information was something even the major guilds didn’t have, so he pursued it further, "The original Insect Master is dead?"

"Missing, at least in the known range of the killing field. It’s been four years."

Jose’s head rasped, "Its disappearance granted us full free will. And the chance to ascend as the Insect Master, devouring one another, endlessly evolving until one becomes the sole entity."

This information is vast,

Li Cheng activated the Multi-threaded Brain Domain Method, thoughts racing as he bombarded with questions, "Insect Master’s disappearance granted you free will? Does it mean all infected entities are controlled by the Insect Master as long as it’s there?

The idea of becoming the sole entity means the position of Insect Master is exclusive. At any given time, can there only be one Insect Master in the killing field?"

"The first question, correct."

Jose’s head mouthed unconsciously, adding, "The second question, not only can there be only one Insect Master in the killing field, but across all planes and worlds, there can only be one Insect Master at any given time."

"..."

Li Cheng pressed his lips together and pushed his glasses up his nose with his index finger.

There can and must be only one Insect Master at any given time. It’s somewhat reasonable, like "there must be a Witch Demon King."

Just like in the movie "Alien," when an alien species is stranded on a remote planet, they will autonomously evolve an Alien Queen,

the natural world also has many cases, such as in clownfish communities, where a dominant female holds the leadership, guiding the community to forage and avoid predators.

If the dominant female disappears, the community will fill this vacancy by having a male transform into a dominant female. The entire set of endocrine systems and reproductive organs change.

(Therefore, in the animated film "Finding Nemo," Nemo’s dad should also be his mom.)

Based on this theory, once the Insect Master goes missing, all infected entities will begin a battle royale, devouring one another until a victor emerges, evolving into the new and sole Insect Master,

immediately gaining overwhelming advantages over all other infected entities, even controlling them at the genetic level.

Li Cheng paused, "Before, how many ’siblings’ have you eaten?"

Jose’s head retorted, "Do you count how many pieces of bread you’ve eaten?"

"He doesn’t eat much bread,"

Gray Rain, busy reconstructing its body in the corner, raised a hand and said, "We mostly eat cake, soup buns, steamed buns, cornbread, egg tarts, mousse, macarons, tiramisu..."

"That’s quite filling,"

Both Jose’s head and the Divine Calamity infected entity nodded, "David maxed out this aspect."

Li Cheng’s eye twitched, barely holding back. The infected entity across using Jose’s memory could understand these abstract concepts. It’s quite absurd.

"I’ve devoured countless lower-level infected entities without intelligence."

Jose’s head continued, "As for higher-level infected entities with self-will and intelligence, the number devoured is seventeen."

"..."

Li Cheng remained silent; each infected entity hunts creatures to enhance its gene pool. The longer it lives, the richer the gene pool.

And to maintain his human form, he hasn’t really utilized this ability much.

Compared to other infected entities, he’s like a lazy dog.

Whereas the one before him has devoured seventeen higher-level infected entities; no wonder its life force is stronger than the Frog God from the homecoming mission.

Li Cheng asked, "One last question, why are you willing to reveal so much information? Logically, all counterparts are competitors on the evolutionary path."

"I haven’t met a special kind like you, who also holds the identity of a Summoner, for a long time, so I’m willing to talk a bit more."

The red beetle slowly bent its body, extending numerous chimney-like exhaust pipes from its back, spewing hot steam.