Luo Wen finally understood the purpose of the small aperture at the rear of his body after a new addition—a massive organ—had connected to it.
Through this aperture, Luo Wen could transfer food to the newly formed organ. His abdomen, now compressed like a dense biscuit, could store significantly less food. Most of what he consumed was now transported directly to the new organ, where it was converted into energy. As for what the organ would do with this energy, Luo Wen dared not experiment to find out.
He feared the worst—what if it produced an egg? That would be catastrophic.
For now, he decided to feign ignorance, leaving room to reverse the situation later. But should his curiosity lead him to confirm his suspicions, the consequences would be unacceptable.
Lost in these chaotic thoughts, time passed quickly, and Luo Wen drifted off to sleep.
In his dreams, he saw the massive organ behind him open at the end, spewing out tiny insects with a “poof, poof” sound. Luo Wen, oddly enough, watched them with a benevolent smile.
The nightmare was so chilling that it jolted him awake as if drenched in ice water. His whole body froze in terror. If such a thing ever occurred, he’d rather die than live with the shame.
It took a long while for him to recover, but his body still felt incredibly drained—a sign of energy depletion.
Rather than panic, Luo Wen was overjoyed. This exhaustion meant his body was undergoing another transformation!
He checked his head, thorax, and back—no changes. His body size also remained the same.Breathing a sigh of relief, he noted that none of the energy had been wasted on any unwanted mutations. He then turned his attention to his abdomen, where he noticed it had returned to its normal state, no longer compressed. However, to his frustration and anger, the massive organ was still attached to his rear.
His mind filled with confusion. Was this some kind of joke? All it had done was restore his abdomen while leaving his body even longer and more cumbersome. What purpose did this serve other than making him an easier target?
But then he noticed something peculiar.
With a thought, the new organ detached from his body and became a separate entity on the ground. He then repositioned himself, aligning the aperture on his rear with the opening on the organ. With a soft “click,” the organ reconnected to his body.
Luo Wen was dumbfounded, marveling at the ingenuity of evolution. To prevent him from harboring self-destructive thoughts, his body had developed a compromise: turning this organ into a detachable device.
All Luo Wen could do was exclaim, “Amazing!”
From then on, the organ could function like a machine. In emergencies, he could even drag it behind him like a cart. This ingenious design saved his dignity.
No matter what others might think, Luo Wen convinced himself of this explanation and repeatedly hypnotized himself to believe it without question.
With the critical issue of dignity resolved, his curiosity about the organ’s functions surged.
He eagerly began examining it. After some exploration, Luo Wen discovered the following:
It was still a living entity and required constant energy to survive. It had its own digestive and energy conversion systems. It could be fed by either connecting it to his aperture or placing food directly into a funnel-shaped opening on its side.
Luo Wen decided to forget about the first feeding method. From now on, there was only one way to provide it with food.
The organ had no independent consciousness. It was entirely under Luo Wen’s control, and his will dictated its actions. This was logical, considering it originated from his body. Luo Wen vowed to keep this fact a strict secret.
No matter which part of his body—his head, limbs, or even his rear—touched the organ, he could activate its functions.
As Luo Wen had guessed, its primary function was to produce small insects. The organ shared all of Luo Wen’s genetic material except his evolutionary abilities. It could mix and match his genetic fragments to produce various types of insects.
This feature offered an unexpected benefit: Luo Wen now had an indirect way to view the genetic material within his body. For example, he discovered that he had indeed acquired genetic fragments from the Black Beetle—a pleasant surprise.
However, the organ lacked the ability to hunt for its own food. Luo Wen would have to provide all its energy.
Even so, Luo Wen couldn’t help but exclaim, “Incredible!”
Before long, Luo Wen would no longer be alone. He would have his own “little brothers.”
But he couldn’t keep calling it “the organ.” That would reveal too much. It needed a proper name.
After some thought, Luo Wen decided to call it Brood Nest—a fitting name.
With the name settled, the next step was to test its capabilities.
Luo Wen was eager to begin, but his empty stomach forced him to gather food first. Leaving the Brood Nest alone in the cave made him uneasy—it had no offensive or defensive capabilities. If something wandered in and took a bite out of it, he wouldn’t even know where to cry.
Reluctantly, Luo Wen reconnected the Brood Nest to his body and dragged it along as he ventured out.
He followed the previous path he had excavated. Although the tunnel had partially collapsed, it was still more convenient than digging a new one.
Reaching the roots of an unknown plant, Luo Wen began replenishing his own energy.
Once sated, he turned his attention to feeding the Brood Nest. There was an efficient, straightforward way to do so, but Luo Wen refused to entertain it.
Instead, he bit into the plant roots, sucked out some juice, and spat it into the Brood Nest’s funnel. The process was awkward, to say the least.
This method was painfully inefficient. After a long time, the Brood Nest had barely gathered any energy, while Luo Wen was utterly exhausted.
Throughout the process, Luo Wen repeatedly checked the Brood Nest to see if enough material had been stored to produce an insect.
His initial design was a small insect based on himself, augmented with the Black Beetle’s powerful genes.
The Black Beetle’s oxygen supply system was only slightly more advanced than Luo Wen’s, but its muscular system was much more robust, allowing it to distribute oxygen across its massive body.
After some thought, Luo Wen decided to create an enhanced version of the Black Beetle instead. Unfortunately, the energy required to produce such a creature was astronomical.
Moreover, the juice from the plant roots was highly inefficient for energy conversion. At Luo Wen’s current pace, it would take an eternity to gather enough energy.
This was far from the ideal scenario Luo Wen had envisioned. If this continued, the Brood Nest would be more of a burden than an asset to his growth.