Qin Ziwen was surprised when he first heard about the Insect Man, but his surprise vanished after seeing it.
If Fishmen could exist, then encountering other intelligent species was merely a matter of probability.
[Ordinary Insect-man: ☆☆☆☆☆]
The name alone suggested the species wasn’t limited to just Mantis People.
"Where did you catch this thing?"
Qin Ziwu said smugly, "Pure luck. While on patrol, I heard someone mention a humanoid monster. I went to search the area and found this guy hiding behind a stone pillar.
The fool must have thought I wouldn’t spot it if it just hid there without moving."
Qin Ziwen sized it up. "Interesting. This Insect Man is quite a curiosity."
Qin Ziwu said, "It’s quite strong, a bit more powerful than a human of the same Star Level. More importantly, its legs have incredible explosive power, probably because it looks like a mantis."
"It’s strong, but not as strong as I’d imagined. I thought it would be like an ant, able to lift hundreds of times its own weight." Deng Guang clucked his tongue in amazement. It was a real eye-opener for him.
The insectoid creature was truly bizarre.
To be honest, he wasn’t this repulsed even by the Fishmen. But the sight of this Insect Man made his skin crawl.
The creature’s arms were covered in needle-like barbs, and its compound eyes—each larger than a pear—were packed with tiny lenses like a honeycomb. The sight was enough to make his trypophobia flare up.
Deng Guang took a couple of unsteady steps and turned his back, unable to look at it any longer.
Zhao Pu crouched down and squeezed the Insect Man’s arm. It was hard, like an exoskeleton.
He knocked on it.
THUMP. THUMP.
’Hollow. Its arm isn’t solid.’
He scrutinized the Mantis Person. "Its anatomy is more insect than human. A structure like this would provide great explosive power, but lifting hundreds of times its body weight should be impossible. Ten to twenty times would be the absolute maximum."
The surrounded Insect Man suddenly began to tremble violently. Its mandibles clicked open and shut as a low hum vibrated from its throat.
Through his Resonance, Qin Ziwen sensed the waves of fear, tension, and fright it was emitting.
’Such complex emotions. Its intelligence can’t be low.’ Qin Ziwen waved a hand. "Take it back to the Home. I want to have a proper chat with it."
He had been able to communicate with the Fishmen before because he’d had a Fishman to translate.
This time, to communicate with the Insect Man, he had no Recruiter from the Insect Man race. He would have to rely on his Resonance ability.
Language is a medium for conveying emotion.
But since Qin Ziwen could transmit emotions directly, communication was possible even without a shared language.
Sensing the friendly emotions radiating from Qin Ziwen, the struggling Insect Man paused.
In the living room, Qin Ziwen brought a wooden stool for the Insect Man, then sat down on the sofa himself.
As for why he didn’t let the Insect Man sit on the sofa, he was afraid its barbs would ruin the upholstery.
"Here, have something to eat." Qin Ziwen picked up a cherry tomato from the table and tossed it to the Insect Man.
The Insect Man caught it by instinct.
"Fast reflexes," Qin Ziwen remarked, raising an eyebrow.
After catching the cherry tomato, the two antennae on the Mantis Person’s head twitched as it caught the sweet scent of the fruit.
The feeling of goodwill, combined with the sweet-smelling food.
Caused its tense body to relax ever so slightly.
"Shall we talk?" Qin Ziwen asked, popping a cherry tomato into his mouth. It was perfectly sweet and sour.
The Mantis Person looked back and forth, hesitated, then tentatively took a small bite of the cherry tomato with its mandibles.
Its eyes brightened, and it devoured the rest in a few quick bites.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Do you live in tribes or as individuals? How many more like you are in this network of underground caves?"
The Mantis Person hesitated.
"Brother, I brought him," Qin Ziwu said, leading a Dark Tide Fishman over.
The Mantis Person whipped its head around. Upon seeing Lan Xie, its body shot back like a released spring, leaping seven or eight meters in an instant to put distance between them.
Lan Xie hadn’t known why he’d been brought here, but the moment he saw the "giant mantis" bolt away, he understood completely.
"Sir, that’s an Insect Man."
"I know it’s an Insect Man. Get to the point."
Lan Xie paused for a beat, then quickly began his explanation.
After hearing Lan Xie’s story, everything became clear to Qin Ziwen.
The Insect Men were another intelligent species living in this part of the Underworld; the Fishmen lived in the water, while the Insect Men lived on the land.
Because they occupied different primary habitats, the two species originally had little conflict, aside from occasional friction.
But several decades ago, the Fishman Tribe suddenly began hunting the Insect Men en masse, destroying their civilization. Now, the Insect Men in the Underworld were a broken power, mostly just scattered groups of feral individuals.
"No wonder it reacted so strongly to seeing you," Qin Ziwen said, looking at the Mantis Person. He could sense hatred, rage, and fear radiating from it.
"Was the power difference between your two peoples really that great?" Qin Ziwen asked, turning to Lan Xie.
’If the power gap was that huge, how could they have coexisted peacefully for so long? He found that hard to believe.’
’For one side’s power to skyrocket so suddenly, it meant they either had a major technological breakthrough or there was some outside influence.’
Qin Ziwen thought of the Fishmen’s ability to control insects. ’Could it be related to that?’
"I don’t know either." Lan Xie shook his head. The war between the two species had ended long before he was born; most of what he knew came from stories told by the elders.
He had never gone out of his way to ask about it.
"Fishman..." Hatred flared in the Mantis Person’s eyes as it crouched into an attack stance.
Lan Xie grew nervous and took a half step to the left, sheltering behind Qin Ziwu.
’At this range, and on dry land, I’m no match for an Insect Man.’
The Mantis Person’s fury was palpable. In Qin Ziwen’s Resonance, it felt like a blazing torch.
Qin Ziwen understood.
These Insect Men and the Fishmen shared a blood feud.
And hatred could be exploited.
He took a step forward and spoke to the Mantis Person. "We can be friends. I am also an enemy to the Fishmen. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Lan Xie, who was still standing behind his brother.
Their eyes met. Lan Xie understood instantly. With a THUD, he dropped to his knees and prostrated himself in a posture of complete submission.
The wary Mantis Person was startled. It was shocked. From what it had been told since childhood, these Fishmen were evil; they had killed so many of its kind.
’For such a wicked Fishman to be afraid of this human...’
’...just how terrifying must this human be?’
A new layer of fear crept into the Mantis Person’s gaze as it looked at Qin Ziwen.
"Do you understand the language of the Insect Men?" Qin Ziwen asked Lan Xie.
Lan Xie shook his head.
After a moment of thought, Qin Ziwen gestured to the Mantis Person. "Come with me."
He led it to the Hundred Schools Book Tower, where he took out a book titled *An Intermediate Guide to the Human Language* and tossed it over.
"Study hard. Once you’ve learned it, you’re free to leave."
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