Nati carried the heavy Geo on his back and walked with Simon along a remote and dark path at the crossroads.
They all remained silent. The journey was dangerous and dangers were lurking in the darkness. They couldn't be careless, otherwise their lives might be in danger.
Walking back the way they had come, Nati noticed something was amiss. He put down the bag full of Geo, asked Simon to stay where he was, and cautiously took a few steps forward. He squatted down and touched an unnatural bulge in the ground. The gravel had accumulated into a small mound, and it seemed as if something was buried.
Nati seemed startled and quickly and quietly retreated back to Simon. When he was a certain distance away from the mound, he took a breath and pointed at the bulge and said to Simon, "Look, there's a Gorm underneath!"
Simon was confused, so Nati explained, "It will crawl out from the ground and eat the insects in it in one bite. It has fangs all over its body. It's very scary!"
Now Simon understood that it was the long worm that served as a movable trap in the game.
This insect looks like a long strip of Chinese chess stacked together. It is iron-gray, has mouthparts at both ends, and is covered with barbed fangs. Its thick armor makes it impervious to slashing and it lacks intelligence.
You don't have to worry too much about this bug in the game because it appears as a trap tool, but in reality, it is a cold and cunning predator that will not easily come out of its hiding hole, but once it attacks, it rarely misses.
Seeing that Simon was on guard, Nati nodded with satisfaction, led him around the Gorm, and continued on his journey.
After that, there were no accidents and I returned home without any problems.
Life returned to normal. Simon insisted on exercising every day, and Nati also went to check the road signs regularly, and caught a few small reptiles as food when he came back.
The bag of Geo was carefully kept in a large box. These Geos were the most valuable ones, that is, the ones with the highest "currency value". They were oval, flat, metallic, with horizontal stripes, and very beautiful.
This kind of Geo is the most important source of metal. It is said that it is formed by some kind of insects that swallow minerals and enrich the metal elements in their shells, thus forming round metal blocks.
Nati had been waiting for the arrival of the beautiful female insect, and to that end, he would decorate his home in his spare time. He would collect small trinkets along the way, such as bracelets and badges. He also collected some ancient relics, such as the Hallownest seal and some wanderer's diaries. Nati framed them on a smooth stone slab and placed it on the left side of the entrance to the house for visitors to see.
Simon studied these gadgets with great curiosity. The ancient relics in particular caught his attention, as they could be exchanged for money in the game.
Nati collected eight wanderer's diaries one after another. These oval stones recorded the travelers' experiences. Unfortunately, seven of them were recorded in a long-lost ancient dialect and could not be deciphered. Only one was recent, recording a traveler's admiration for the bustling scene of the Queen's Inn.
"Countless insects roam here, their variety rare to any creature. The stag beetles' footsteps shake this underground kingdom. Vast quantities of supplies and insects depart from here, penetrating every corner of Hallownest, like blood flowing through veins, thriving."
This diary is the most recent one, but it still describes a distant past, a lost history.
Simon clicked his tongue, expressing his longing.
The seals of Hallownest are all of the same shape, though some are newer and some are older, indicating different times of casting.
As Nati continued to collect junk and bring it into the house, the small round house soon became extremely cramped, and Simon had to go out for exercise. However, Nati required that Simon must stay in the house while he went out to work.
So when Nati went out, Simon would sleep, and when he came back to wake him up, he would start exercising.
This vast complex of roundhouses was once inhabited by bugs, but soon after Hallownest's fall, it became deserted, with only maintenance bugs now residing here.
The actual builder of these round houses might have been some kind of snail, and their style is the same as the entire crossroads, with a shell-like appearance and simple and natural patterns.
Many dilapidated round houses, with their arched skeletons exposed, look like the fossilized remains of dead giant insects.
Simon jumped around on these domes with quick and agile movements.
Insects have simple and unadorned bodies and good tolerance, so Simon can move for long periods of time without worrying about exhaustion.
At some point, Simon jumped high, raised his hand to touch the protruding spikes on the platform above his head, and grasped the spikes tightly with four fingers, hanging himself in the air to exercise his arm strength.
At this moment, his eyes were staring into the darkness, and suddenly he saw a ray of light coming out from a corner, illuminating a beautiful and strong figure.
Simon jumped off the round house and rushed into the house to tell Nati that the girl he had been thinking about day and night, Paya, was here!
"What! No, I mean, it's great!" Nati rubbed his hands excitedly. After such a long fantasy, he was physically and mentally ready for a passionate love!
Erchong quickly tidied up the slightly messy little house, trying his best to make the crowded decorations create a "full beauty".
Simon went out to greet them, while Nati stayed to prepare food.
Paya came alone, carrying a small lightfly lantern. Simon was not surprised. Making lightfly lanterns is a necessary skill for many maintenance bugs. It is used to repair street lights. In the game, such a lantern costs 1,800 Geo to buy from the store manager Sly.
Both parties were very satisfied with this gathering. Paya was very interested in the bits and pieces collected by Nati. It turned out that she was also curious about the relics of Hallownest. Nati was lucky enough to get what she wanted.
After showing Paya around the little house, which had really nothing to say, Nati invited Paya to dinner.
During the meal, Nati showed his talkative nature many times, but Simon calmly changed the subject every time. Then he kicked this useless guy behind Paya's back, making him stop in his frenzy of thinking.
With the help of Simon, Nati performed very well, and his sincere and passionate emotions also touched Paya, so the bold and independent Paya immediately decided to stay and spend the rest of her life with Nati.
After receiving the accurate answer from the heartworm, Nati was so happy that he almost fainted. In fact, he really fainted for a short time. The excessive excitement caused the cyst filled with corrosive solution in his body to be under pressure, and it spurted out like a fountain. The scene was extremely spectacular, but the consequences were tragic. The ground of the house was corroded and pitted.
Simon pulled Paya out.
"Madam, dear lady, please believe me, he just loves you so much that he can't help himself!"
"Really? That's good. I was worried that I would have to live with an irritable bug in the future..."
"Haha, how could that be, how could that be..."