novelraw Chapter 263: The Special Individual Pupation of the Mealworm: A Throw-A-Fat Investment
Chapter 263: The Special Individual Pupation of the Mealworm: A Throw-A-Fat Investment
"Mealworms? What about the mealworms..."
Yu Yuan was still puzzled when he heard Dale's voice, but he quickly realized what Dale was talking about.
"It's that big worm!!!"
Understanding now, Yu Yuan immediately stood up, and Dale also rushed into the room.
"Boss, hurry! That mealworm suddenly started writhing frantically..."
"Let's go, we'll talk downstairs!"
As soon as Yu Yuan finished speaking, he was already at the staircase, taking the steps two at a time as he jumped down.
Arriving at the Insect Breeding Room, Yu Yuan saw the mealworm, now grown to palm-size, writhing wildly inside the cultivation box that Dale had placed separately. Moreover, faint gray patterns had appeared on its plump body.
This wasn't there before.
After all, Yu Yuan had just checked it this morning!Dale had also arrived by now; running up and down the stairs continuously had left him slightly breathless.
"What's the situation?" Yu Yuan asked.
"It's like this! I was just checking the breeding status of the adult mealworms when I heard movement over here. I came to check immediately and saw it writhing frantically, so I went upstairs to find you right away."
Hearing this, Yu Yuan continued asking:
"When was the Hundred Flowers Nectar fed today?"
"The Hundred Flowers Nectar was fed first thing after getting up, that's the first task every day." Dale thought about the specific time, then affirmed: "6:17 AM, the error won't exceed one minute."
Yu Yuan looked at his watch; it was already 9:12 AM, meaning less than three hours had passed.
Yu Yuan understood that this was most likely the Hundred Flowers Nectar taking effect, and this mealworm was preparing to evolve.
"It's fine! Let's wait for now! We'll see how it goes!" Yu Yuan soothed the little old man's emotions.
As time passed, the gray patterns on the mealworm in the cultivation box had already occupied nearly half of its body.
However, Yu Yuan keenly noticed that the spread of the gray patterns was getting slower and slower, and their color was dimming.
Its writhing body also gradually slowed down, seeming somewhat exhausted, as if lacking the strength to continue.
Yu Yuan frowned slightly, quickly assessing the situation.
After a moment's thought, Yu Yuan looked at Dale.
"Where's the remaining Hundred Flowers Nectar?"
Dale immediately ran to a nearby drawer and took out the carefully preserved Hundred Flowers Nectar.
After consumption during this period, the Hundred Flowers Nectar inside was almost gone, with at most five or six drops remaining.
Yu Yuan used a pipette to suck up one drop of Hundred Flowers Nectar, not worrying about precision, and directly dripped it onto the head of the now even slower-writhing mealworm.
As soon as the Hundred Flowers Nectar landed on the mealworm's head, its mouthparts quickly swallowed and sucked it in.
The next moment, as if receiving a recharge, the previously dimmed gray patterns lit up again, and its slowed body resumed writhing.
The mealworm's head also strained to lift upward, refusing to lower.
Seeing this, Yu Yuan immediately understood the mealworm's meaning.
A second drop of Hundred Flowers Nectar was carefully dripped onto the mealworm's head by him.
Sure enough.
This time, as soon as the Hundred Flowers Nectar touched its head, it was absorbed and swallowed again, and the gray patterns on the mealworm's body grew brighter.
But it still wasn't satisfied.
Yu Yuan didn't hesitate either.
The remaining few drops of Hundred Flowers Nectar were all completely swallowed.
Yet the mealworm still didn't seem satisfied, even lifting its head higher!
"Boss, this..." Dale also found it incredible.
He had heard Yu Yuan talk about the effects and value of this Hundred Flowers Nectar, otherwise he wouldn't have treated it so carefully.
But Yu Yuan had already opened Taotao Hole and directly searched for Hundred Flowers Nectar.
Soon, results appeared on the search page.
— Hundred Flowers Nectar 2ml
Price: 500,000 survival points
Yu Yuan directly traded and purchased it.
The entire process wasn't delayed for a second. He retrieved the Hundred Flowers Nectar from the mailbox and continued feeding the mealworm.
One drop, two drops, three drops...
As Yu Yuan fed it, his expression also became strange.
This mealworm was a bit too outrageous!
Watching the just-acquired Hundred Flowers Nectar also about to run out, Yu Yuan couldn't help but feel uneasy inside.
What was going on with this mealworm?
You have to understand, Yu Yuan's total assets were only about five or six million survival points, all earned from the last Wasteland Battle Royale.
And now, this worm, including the previous 1ml from the spoils, had consumed nearly 750,000 survival points.
Wasn't this raising a glutton?!
But things had already reached this point. Even if Yu Yuan was grumbling internally, he had to continue.
No choice, he had already invested such a huge cost, wasn't it precisely to get a special individual mealworm?
If he gave up now, the sunk cost alone would pain him to death, so he could only go all in.
Fortunately, things weren't as bad as Yu Yuan imagined.
Just as this bottle of Hundred Flowers Nectar also had only one or two drops left, the mealworm finally stopped swallowing.
And now, its entire body was completely wrapped in gray patterns.
Right under Yu Yuan and Dale's watchful eyes, this mealworm slowly straightened its body. The gray on its skin surface deepened and darkened further, and it became completely still.
Yu Yuan and Dale exchanged a glance.
"Is this... pupating?"
Dale lowered his head to observe carefully, then finally nodded slightly.
"Boss, it should be pupating. It's just... I've never seen pupation in this form before."
Getting the answer from Dale, Yu Yuan instead breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter what.
Having clear progress was a good thing, and it wasn't in vain that he spent so many survival points buying Hundred Flowers Nectar.
Moreover, Yu Yuan was now someone with Psychic Ability.
He could sense that within the mealworm's body, a faint spirituality was in a budding state.
Perhaps when this mealworm's pupation ended, a brand new and unique life would be born.
And he was also glad that this little guy started its evolution while he happened to be in the shelter.
The earlier situation was clearly an energy deficiency during evolution. If Yu Yuan hadn't supplemented the Hundred Flowers Nectar in time, even if this mealworm eventually succeeded in evolving, it would probably be a malnourished or defective individual.
But now, Yu Yuan was looking forward to what this little guy would look like after evolution.
"Dale, I'll leave this to you, especially this little guy, you must keep a close eye on it! Also, we still don't know what it will become later, but necessary protective measures still need to be taken."
Dale nodded seriously: "I understand that! I'll prepare in a moment. It's just that we don't know how long its pupation will last this time! Nor do we know if our current temperature and humidity meet its requirements."
But Yu Yuan laughed heartily.
"Haha, don't put so much pressure on yourself. No matter how much it evolves, it's still a special individual of a mealworm. Since it could pupate in our current temperature environment, that means the conditions suit its evolution. Just focus on observation."
"Moreover..." Yu Yuan looked at the seemingly petrified pupa in the box.
"It's not as fragile as you imagine right now!"
Dale was stunned for a moment, then also nodded lightly and smiled.
"Right, that's true! Then let's hope it emerges from pupation soon!"