Chapter Five: The City of Homesickness (Part One)

After devouring several mouthfuls, the man finally looked over and said, “Young man, let’s not just sit around. You’ll be living on this Forgotten Star from now on, and these insect ants are indispensable. You were lucky to stumble into an ant tide; don’t let it go to waste. It’s not easy to run into one of these.”

The two of them began searching the mountains, with Devour constantly asking about the uses of these insect ants. Once he understood their purpose, he was both amazed and envious.

When the first explorers set foot on this frozen land, an unknown disease befell them—perhaps due to some element in the air or the planet’s magnetic field. Whatever the cause, any outsider who remained here for several years would experience a degradation of bodily functions: the loss of inner energy, muscles slackening. Once the symptoms appeared, the victim would wither away like a plant and die within half a year.

Eventually, humans discovered that the local creatures preyed on insect ants emerging from volcanic craters. By chance, a person already in decline drank the blood of these ants and found themselves miraculously restored. Only then did humans come to understand the value of these creatures.

From then on, humans began trailing native beasts, hunting for the injured insect ants that managed to escape. With no way to contend head-on with the ants’ self-destructive power—human defenses were laughably inadequate—humans could only scavenge what the monsters left behind. Even this was a task for only the most skilled among them.

That is why, for thousands of years, the human population on Forgotten Star has remained around five hundred million—the number of insect ants caught barely sustains that many.

On this world, there is no cycle of day and night, only the timer on Devour’s wrist.

Over more than a hundred hours, the two of them scoured the mountain valleys, managing to capture five battered insect ants. Little Flower played a vital role, able to sense the general location of ants within a kilometer’s radius.

Their haul left Devour’s mutant companion elated. He kept saying how lucky Devour was, for nearly all five ants had been found by him.

The mutant used a dagger made from a fiery red crystal—a weapon especially suited for dispatching the ants. Each of the five had been killed by a precise blow from this blade.

With the fifth ant’s corpse, Devour and his companion returned to the cave where the other four bodies were hidden. The mutant gazed at the five carcasses, bursting into laughter again and again, clearly overjoyed at their bounty.

After a long while, the old mutant finally calmed down and turned to Devour. “Young man, how about this: out of these five, I take three and you take two. What do you say?”

Devour shook his head hurriedly. “Elder, you did all the work. I don’t deserve any share.”

The old mutant frowned. “Nonsense. Without you, I wouldn’t have found so many. Do you have some way to find them? If you’d only found one or two, I’d chalk it up to luck, but five in a row? That’s no coincidence. Out with it, boy—tell me the truth.”

Devour thought quickly. In these few days with the old man, he’d come to understand something of his character. He also knew that as a newcomer here, he’d need guidance and protection to survive. This man was the ideal choice for that role.

He nodded. The old mutant slapped him on the shoulder, beaming. “You’re quite something! Since you can sense them, let’s work together in the future—these ants are precious. In that case, you take three, and I’ll take two. That’s how it’ll be from now on.”

Devour tried to refuse—he’d barely done more than act as a guide, and all the fighting had been done by the old man. But the mutant would not be swayed, whether out of stubbornness or some deeper plan. In the end, Devour had no choice but to accept the arrangement.

After dividing their spoils, the old mutant slowly approached one of the ant corpses, drew a fist-sized crystal box from his coat, and took out a marble-sized bead exuding a biting cold.

When he pinched up the bead, Devour was yet again struck by the old man’s formidable power. Even from nearly five meters away, he could feel the chill pierce his energy defenses and assault his body. One could imagine how terrifying that little bead must be.

The old mutant held up the bead. “This is a Frost Pearl, used for processing the insect ants.”

With that, he tossed the so-called Frost Pearl onto one of the ant corpses. There was a crisp crack, and the whole body instantly transformed into a fiery red crystal the size of an egg.

At that moment, Devour felt a tremor on his left ear: the Gold-Eating Shark that had clung motionless to his ear since hatching suddenly shot out like a bolt of lightning toward the crystalized ant.

There were several sharp cracks. By the time Devour and the old mutant came to their senses, the fiery red crystal had vanished without a trace. In its place, the Gold-Eating Shark lay motionless, emitting a faint red glow.

The old mutant was beside himself, pointing at the creature in fury. “What is that thing? Heavens, a whole Ant Crystal gone—do you know how many lives that could have saved? It could keep ten million people alive for a year! And now it’s just gone!”

Judging by his expression, he looked ready to skin the Gold-Eating Shark alive.

Devour hurried to explain. “Elder, this is my pet.”

“Pet? A pet that swallows Ant Crystals whole? What kind of monster is this?” But the old mutant’s anger was not assuaged by the explanation.

Ant Crystals were simply too precious—the very source of life for those struggling to survive on the Forgotten Star, a necessity Devour could scarcely comprehend.

Fortunately, before any further trouble could arise, the Gold-Eating Shark seemed to have adapted to its unusual meal and quickly flew back to its place behind Devour’s ear.

Apologies—yesterday, just after uploading a new chapter, my internet cut out. The new line is unstable. Please forgive me—I promise today will be a real update burst.