Five o'clock in the morning was not only the time when humans were sleepiest, but also the period when insects were least active. They were either spacing out, digesting food, or mating. Generally speaking, they wouldn't proactively attack humans – this was common knowledge in Li Jiayu's previous life.
If they slipped out of Xijiang University at that time, they would definitely encounter far fewer dangers along the way, being at least twice as safe. But unfortunately, dawn had already broken, probably around seven o'clock now. Rushing off to rescue his cousin and cousin-in-law at this time seemed somewhat inappropriate.
After all, his cousin and cousin-in-law lived in the residential area in the southern part of the city, while Xijiang University was located on the edge of the northern part. If walking from Xijiang University to the south... a conservative estimate would be two or three hours. Factoring in battles along the way, detours, and even unexpected situations, it might take six or seven hours to reach the south side!
Li Jiayu fell silent.
Six or seven hours... and that's thinking optimistically. If they encountered an insect tide or powerful monsters on the way, whether they could even escape with their lives was uncertain. Moreover, with so many Flame Crows bombing the southern city from the sky, if they were carelessly hit, it would mean serious injury at the very least!
Even worse, Li Jiayu himself didn't remember the route very well. Every time he went to the south side, he took the bus; he wasn't familiar with the specific route.
Although there were bus stop signs along the way and many landmarks, the streets were infested with insects. Even if Li Jiayu had more courage, he absolutely wouldn't dare walk on the main streets. The only way was to take small paths, but that made getting lost very easy. If he failed to reach the south and ended up circling back to the north, it would be utterly laughable.
The trickiest part was, Li Jiayu couldn't guarantee his cousin and cousin-in-law would definitely be hiding in their house. If they weren't home, how could Li Jiayu find people in such a chaotic environment? Even if he found them, safely bringing them back to Xijiang University would also be a major headache.
However, no matter how much of a headache it was, Li Jiayu had to go rescue his cousin and cousin-in-law!
Although his cousin was just a cousin, their relationship was like that of blood brothers. Li Jiayu's father was a basketball coach, often taking his team around for competitions, leaving little time to care for Li Jiayu. So, his cousin became Li Jiayu's guardian, taking great care of both Li Jiayu and Li Banyue. During parent-teacher conferences in childhood, it was always his cousin who attended. In Li Jiayu's heart, his cousin had always been his idol!
And his cousin-in-law, even more so. In his past life, after Li Jiayu fled to Yong City, he reunited with her. At that time, his cousin-in-law was an unnaturally awakened mage, her strength low, merely a high-Tier 1 apprentice Water-type mage. However, her Water-type Nourishing Art was cultivated to a high level, barely usable as a healing and detoxification art. Li Jiayu had suffered injuries and poisoning several times in Yong City, big and small, and always sought help from his cousin-in-law for treatment. Without her, Li Jiayu might have died young.
"Ugh... The rescue operation absolutely cannot be rushed. Even if I don't go save them... Cousin-in-law should at least be safe. But if I risk bringing them back to Xijiang University, it's highly possible they'll be eaten by insects halfway..."
Li Jiayu's mind raced, desperately trying to recall the route to the south side, calculating his own strength, the usable terrain along the way, and so on and so forth...
About ten minutes later, Ran Hongxia came in carrying breakfast. It was a steaming bowl of oatmeal porridge, two slices of cheesecake, and a cup of freshly brewed milk tea.
If placed in the past, such a breakfast would be unsightly. But at this stage, it was already considered sumptuous. After all, in such cold weather, eating something hot was very difficult; most of the people on the thirteenth floor could only eat cold custard pies.
"Is Aunt Xiao asleep..." Ran Hongxia looked at the sleeping Xiao Wanqing, casually placed the breakfast on the table, and said softly:
"Li Jiayu, this is your breakfast. Eat it quickly while it's hot. Your body just recovered; you must replenish enough nutrients."
"It's actually cheesecake, haven't eaten it in ages... Yoho, and oatmeal porridge, must be the masterpiece of that kid Feng Liaoyuan?" Having fought intensely for an afternoon yesterday, he was long starving. Now, with delicious food before him, Li Jiayu, in a great mood, quickly reached out, grabbed a piece of cake, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
"Guessed right. As soon as Feng Liaoyuan heard you woke up, he eagerly went and boiled another pot of water. He originally wanted to make you a cup of instant noodles, but considering you were just injured and shouldn't eat greasy things, he changed it to oatmeal porridge."
"Tsk... It's already the apocalypse, how can we still be so picky? Later when there's nothing to eat, people will fight over rotten dog meat. Some people, desperate with hunger, will even cut off their own wrists and roast their hands to eat... Ran Hongxia, starting today, you are responsible for all my daily needs and meals. Be on call, work hard without complaint. Don't worry about the student union affairs for now, just focus on serving me. Even if I ask you to help me bathe and scrub my body, you must comply without fail... Understood? Why are you glaring at me? Look at my right hand, wasn't it crippled because of you! If it weren't for saving you, how would I have ended up so miserable!" Li Jiayu picked up the teacup, took a small sip of milk tea, put the cup down, and looked at Ran Hongxia with a half-smile, waiting for her to fly into a rage, turn hostile. If he could anger her to tears, that would be even better.
"Okay, I will compensate you... Who told me I owe you so much? If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been almost killed by that strange plant..." A trace of gratitude flashed in Ran Hongxia's eyes as she nodded gently. She agreed without the slightest hesitation!
"You... you didn't misspeak, did you? You really agreed? That wasn't the outcome I wanted..."
Li Jiayu stared dumbfounded. His words just now were purely casual nonsense, meant only to mock Ran Hongxia. In his impression, Ran Hongxia was someone with strong self-esteem, who would rather die than submit, never bowing her head to anyone. If anyone dared to tease her verbally, she would chase them down for dozens of streets at least!
But now, faced with Li Jiayu demanding repayment for his favor, not only was she not angry, but she even seemed to have some inexplicable goodwill towards him, seemingly wanting to get closer. This left Li Jiayu utterly baffled, his mind unable to process it!
Wait... The two times I saved you were completely unintentional! The first time, I didn't even know it was you I was saving! The second time was purely because my brain malfunctioned... Honestly, I wish you'd die sooner! I don't have a shred of pity for you! You really don't need to feel grateful to me!
But then again, the current Ran Hongxia wasn't the future Sword Saint Ran Hongxia. She didn't yet have the dignity of a powerhouse, perhaps... she hadn't even embarked on the path of the strong yet. Right now, she was practically like an ignorant child, easily fooled. Should I perhaps discipline her like a slave... That way, not only could I openly abuse her, but I could also get a loyal fighter for free. When danger arises in the future, I can have her lead the charge...
Ugh... let's talk about this later. I, Li Jiayu, am no saint, but I wouldn't stoop so low as to make a woman sacrifice her life for me. To get revenge on her, I can choose other methods. Both spiritually and physically, I will inflict tenfold devastation upon her.
"I agreed, so I agreed. Is it strange? Li Jiayu, you are the great hero of Xijiang University, you saved my life, and you have such amazing swordsmanship. If you weren't a year younger than me, I would have considered asking you to be my master. Li Jiayu, did you know? Although you're a chuunibyou, always self-righteous, with your eyes on top of your head, but I don't know why, I always feel you're very interesting. Besides being easily annoying, everything else is full marks." Ran Hongxia's eyelashes fluttered as she quickly glanced at Li Jiayu, then looked away.
"You... are you a masochist? I boss you around, yet you still have such a high opinion of me? Don't you know you should hate me..."
Speaking here, Li Jiayu paused, looking strangely at Ran Hongxia. By the dim light, Li Jiayu could clearly see her pretty face flushed crimson, like a ripe apple... What, what is going on? Could it be the weather is too cold, freezing her face red?
You, you can play the righteous hero, fine, but please don't develop a crush on me! The hatred between us runs deep as the sea! Don't you voluntarily jump into the fire pit! Otherwise, what's the point of me getting revenge on you!
Finishing his breakfast in a few bites, Li Jiayu blinked, no longer bossing Ran Hongxia around as he initially did, changing the subject:
"The Red-Crested Beetles killed in the academic building last night, have they all been moved to the thirteenth floor?"
"Not yet. We only managed to move twenty-five. They're all piled up on the twelfth floor. You once said Red Beetle meat has many benefits, so I had some people gather saws, knives, and containers for the insect meat. We'll start work after dawn, officially stripping the insect meat..." Once it came to official business, Ran Hongxia immediately seemed like a different person, adopting the air of the student union vice president, full of spirit.
"Mm, good arrangement. Don't look at how hard the Red-Crested Beetle's carapace is; after they die, their carapaces soften considerably, probably only about the hardness of an aluminum plate. Using saws is enough to cut them open. But you must remember one point: the only edible parts are the flesh and brain matter. Internal organs and such are mostly harmful to humans, no need to extract them. Also, when sawing the shell, it's best to follow the grain of the carapace; it'll be easier that way."
"Understood, I will inform them," Ran Hongxia nodded, a complex emotion surging in her heart. In rural areas, many insects like mantises, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and longhorn beetles were caught by humans, either stir-fried or deep-fried, turned into fragrant rural delicacies.
But yesterday... humans were invaded by otherworldly Insectoids, becoming food for insects on a large scale for the first time. Countless people perished in insect bellies, becoming their delicious meals.
Today, the situation reversed slightly. The students of Xijiang University, in order to gather food, were actually butchering the very insects that specialized in eating human flesh, turning them into human delicacies... How should this be described—the cycle of karma, swift retribution?
Or, when will the cycle of vengeance end?
"What? Suddenly looking with a worried face? I already said, insect meat is actually quite good, tender and delicious, like salmon, much tastier than Japanese or Korean sashimi."
"No, I just feel a bit unable to process the turnaround... Sheep eat grass, humans eat sheep, we find it normal... But now seeing humans and insects mutually slaughtering, mutually preying on each other, there's always a sense of dissonance..."
"Frankly speaking, it's just the law of the jungle. The weak are devoured by the strong. It's just that the war between insects and humans is expressed more bloodily. Even the laws between humans, isn't it also survival of the fittest? The superiors step on the corpses of the subordinates, expropriating their labor..."
Speaking here, Li Jiayu suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile:
"Forget it, talking about this is really pointless. I'm not some literary youth... Let me ask you something else. Back then, we collected over fifty Insect Crystals in total. Twenty were used by you, Chu Xiang, and Chen Kun for enhancement. I myself took fifteen... Calculating, there should be over twenty left. Are the remaining crystals still accounted for?"
"Mm, yes, they are. I'm keeping all of them safe... Originally last night, some classmates were clamoring to quickly use them for everyone's enhancement, but without your consent, I didn't dare make a decision. Besides, almost all those Insect Crystals were obtained by you alone; you have 100% right to dispose of them."
"Very good. Keep the Insect Crystals for now; I will make proper arrangements. Actually, I can't use that many myself either. In the end, they will still benefit the classmates... Ran Bitch, cough... Ran Hongxia, cough... Hongxia, you understand the students better. It's best to select some trustworthy individuals from the student body, those with good character, sharp minds, and strong bodies. Let them form a vanguard team. The excess Insect Crystals can be given to them. Of course, they must obey my commands..."
"Li Jiayu, judging by your expression... you plan to form your own army, don't you?"
"You really judge a gentleman by a villain's standards. I'm not that bored. Forming a vanguard team is merely to slightly counter the insect tide."
"Alright, I'll listen to you. I'll discuss it with Chu Xiang, Jiang Feng, and the others later."
Li Jiayu spoke a few more sentences with Ran Hongxia, all very valuable suggestions, though actually less suggestions and more like commands, because Ran Hongxia completely obeyed Li Jiayu's every word, never saying no.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Digest what I've said properly... I'm going to the toilet first."
After speaking, Li Jiayu opened the door himself. The students who saw him come out let out sounds of pleasant surprise, wanting to run over and greet their idol. But Li Jiayu just gave a cool smile, waved his hand, signaling them not to disturb him for now, then jogged all the way to the toilet. Facing the urinal, he took out his dick and started peeing.
"Phew... accumulated so much water, feels so good to pee it all out..."
Li Jiayu sighed contentedly, looking at his reflection in the mirror. Why does he look somewhat unfamiliar?
Compared to yesterday... it seemed his facial features were softer, looking more delicate. And the masculine ruggedness was lessened, leaning more towards androgynous. In short, he looked handsomely beautiful, unlike a man. Moreover, Li Jiayu seemed to feel his hair had grown two or three centimeters; the bangs in front almost covered his eyes!
"Mm... truly strange, how did my hair grow so much overnight... Is it because of that Female Parasitic Vine's crystal core? Oh right, its crystal core has life energy, it would affect my body's metabolism..."
Li Jiayu muttered, his eyes looking towards his Adam's apple. Huh? Why did his Adam's apple get smaller?
In a flash, Li Jiayu's eyes widened!
Female Parasitic Vine!
Why is it called Female Parasitic Vine? Because it absorbs primal Yin energy!
And when talking with Ran Hongxia, he learned that inside the Female Parasitic Vine's flower bud, a female energy life form was gestating!
Female... and a female fae similar to a succubus...
Heavens, I swallowed its crystal core, will I be affected in other ways?
Li Jiayu felt greatly uneasy. He quickly looked down at his dick, only to see the thing hanging limply like a flesh worm, listless!
But, whether it was an illusion or due to the cold weather, Li Jiayu felt like his dick had shrunk, a whole size smaller!
"This... what on earth... is going on? My cousin isn't saved yet, but my little brother is already in big trouble!"
Li Jiayu was aghast, his tiger-like body trembling. He was so agitated he almost wet his shoes!
A cold wind blew in from the window. Li Jiayu felt an unprecedented bone-chilling cold, as if his blood had frozen solid!