Published: February 19, 2025
CHAPTER 58: Preparations in Advance
Leaving the activity room, Chen Chu went to the training classroom to practice his swordsmanship and dragon elephant skill until the school bell rang at a little past four.
Today, he didn't go to the reading room to study; instead, he left school early.
After exiting the school gate, Chen Chu took a taxi to the pet market.
At the same bird and insect pet shop, Chen Chu walked in and greeted, "Boss Li, where are the insects I ordered?"
Seeing a familiar face, the shop owner smiled, "Here it is. I've packed it in a box, and to prevent them from dying on the way, I've added a few extra ones for you."
As he spoke, Boss Li led Chen Chu to a shelf inside, where there was a small box measuring twenty centimeters in length and width, filled with some rotting leaves.
Crawling on top of the leaves were four insects, each about three centimeters long, with elongated bodies that shimmered with a metallic luster.
What was most distinctive about these insects was their protruding compound eyes and unusually long legs.
"This type of insect is quite common, but it can be tricky to catch. Recently, wild creatures have become increasingly aggressive, and many have shown slight mutations."
"Since we're familiar with each other, I'll charge you four hundred this time."
"Alright, thanks, Boss Li."
Chen Chu didn’t haggle and directly transferred four hundred yuan to him. He took the box and a complimentary box of food '粉虫' (powdered insects) and walked out of the pet shop.
This was what Chen Chu had prepared for the next evolution of the heavy armored beast.
It was an insect known as the tiger beetle, which is carnivorous.
The most famous aspect of it is its speed, claimed to be the fastest in the insect world, capable of moving a distance three hundred times its body length in an instant.
After determining that the target for the next evolution of his clone would focus on enhancing speed, Chen Chu researched extensively and ultimately settled on the tiger beetle.
By absorbing the genes of the tiger beetle, even if he only obtained a tenfold increase in speed, it would still be a significant enhancement for the heavy armored beast.
Actually, Chen Chu had considered using mutated beasts for the third evolution of his clone.
However, ordinary mutated beasts are just strong and have high defenses; they aren't as effective as the current heavy armored beast given the same volume.
As for those powerful mutated beasts with special abilities, that was out of the question—he either couldn’t afford them or couldn’t defeat them.
Besides that, Chen Chu also considered some special organisms, such as tardigrades.
These creatures, referred to as bugs but more like microorganisms, are known as indestructible life forms, with extremely formidable vitality, capable of surviving extreme temperatures and adapting to various environments.
They can even survive in outer space due to their unique abilities.
However, after carefully reviewing the data on this organism, Chen Chu decided against it.
The reason this organism is said to have such strong vitality and can survive for hundreds of years is that it enters a dehydrated dormant state to avoid harsh conditions.
This state is akin to a state of suspended animation; they can’t do anything, and if they encounter enemies during this time, they have no means to resist.
Their actual active lifespan is only a few weeks, making the claim of being indestructible quite exaggerated.
"Brother, you're back so early today."
After five o'clock, Chen Hu, who had just returned from school, was a bit surprised to see Chen Chu at home.
"Yeah, I had something to do today and left early."
As he spoke, Chen Chu called Chen Hu over and pointed at the box on the table, "Xiao Hu, remember to help me feed this thing in a few days when I go for my trial."
Chen Hu curiously looked at the tiger beetles on the table and asked, "Brother, what kind of insect is this?"
Chen Chu casually made up a reason, "It's a tiger beetle, my new pet. Just throw a few powdered insects in there each day."