However, reality delivered a ruthless and merciless blow, like a giant hammer smashing into Zhang Yang's chest, leaving him gasping for air.
Why was it like this?
Because Zhang Yang had already been patrolling his territory for several days.
In those several days, he hadn't found a single suitable target to act against.
Anything small was completely beneath his notice now—he desperately needed a species with powerful attack power. Earthworms, wriggling bugs, all of them could scram.
"If I keep failing to find something suitable, is this Young Master really going to end his life like this?"
A few days ago, after completing his task, Zhang Yang had been brimming with confidence. Now he was filled with nothing but dejection.
And the system wasn't issuing any more tasks either—it had simply left him to his own devices, completely ignoring him.
"System, if you don't show up soon, your future strongest master is going to die here."
"Ding, task triggered: Kill a mantis. Task requirement: Kill one mantis. Task reward: Unknown."
Proof that some seemingly useless grumbling can actually work—Zhang Yang had barely finished complaining when the system responded.
A mantis?
If Zhang Yang had eyes that could sparkle, they would definitely be shining right now.
A mantis would be perfect.
That thing has two huge blades—seriously impressive.
Way stronger than him, a little ant who can only bite with his mouth right now.
So the question was: where were these mantis brothers hiding?
Just as Zhang Yang was looking around, a huge specimen—easily 15–16 cm long—suddenly appeared. This guy had probably been lurking on a nearby tree the whole time and launched an attack the moment Zhang Yang came close.
Big mantises can fly too—and faster than Zhang Yang could ever hope to move. He had zero chance to dodge and was instantly caught between the mantis's two scythe-like forelegs.
Being caught meant being treated as food and delivered straight into its mouth.
"You…" Zhang Yang stared at the green maw right in front of him, completely at a loss for words.
The next moment, his head was bitten down on.
Huh?
So hard?
The mantis was surprised.
It had thought it caught a nice little snack for a quick meal, but who knew this little ant's head would be so tough? One bite and it didn't even break the surface.
If one bite didn't work, then another.
The mantis bit again. Its mouthparts looked tiny to humans, but to the current Zhang Yang they were enormous—one bite could probably swallow half his body.
Wait… something's wrong. Is this little ant made of metal? Why can't I bite through?
The mantis kept chewing and grinding Zhang Yang's body, but still couldn't make any progress.
Zhang Yang's 0.3 physique wasn't for show—at the insect level, it was already quite impressive.
"You still biting? You're never gonna stop, are you?"
Zhang Yang finally recovered from the sudden shock. The ambush had caught him completely off guard.
But after being bitten twice, he snapped out of it—he had to. If this kept going, he wouldn't even get to die of old age; he'd just die right here.
As for how to fight back? Simple. You like biting so much, big mantis? Then taste what it feels like to be bitten.
Zhang Yang suddenly moved. His strength was astonishing—his six tiny legs actually pried open the mantis's two scythes. He pulled his head free and nimbly climbed onto the back of the mantis's head.
Before the mantis even realized what was happening, Zhang Yang opened his mouth.
"This mantis head shouldn't be much harder than an ant's."
That was his thought before biting. After biting, the thought was confirmed.
The mantis's attack power was indeed impressive, but its defense? Laughable.
One bite—and a chunk of its head was gone.
The pain was excruciating.
The mantis felt like it had been pecked by some bird.
Instinctively, it raised its scythes and slashed at the back of its own head.
Unfortunately for it, Zhang Yang's defense was on a completely different level. Those serrated blades couldn't do much to him—at least not in the short term.
Zhang Yang, on the other hand, locked onto one spot and bit relentlessly. In just a few bites, half the mantis's head was gnawed away.
A perfectly good big mantis died just like that—pathetically—killed by the mouth of a male ant it had thought was just a snack, but which turned out to be its assassin.
"Ding, killed a mantis. Evolution points +30."
"No fragment? Bad review."
"Ding, task completed: Kill a mantis. Task reward: Lifespan +5 days, special talent – Sharpness."
Sharpness: Special talent. When using any sharp body part for attack, sharpness is doubled.
"Special talent? So basically my bite just got way better?"
Zhang Yang was very satisfied with this reward.
"Evolve into a mantis."
He had long since stopped gaining evolution points from normal means, and he was thoroughly sick of this ant body. Compared to that, a mantis's posture was just so much more majestic, right?
"Ding, this evolution requires 2000 evolution points. Proceed with evolution?"
"So much?"
Zhang Yang was a little stunned—he hadn't expected that.
Then again, think about how many levels he had skipped. Normally he should have gone through queen ant, dung beetle, scarab beetle, and so on.
But Zhang Yang was just that exceptional—he skipped straight past disgusting things like dung beetles and jumped directly to a big mantis. How cool was that?
"Evolve."
Evolution points were plentiful anyway—he didn't feel bad about spending them. Worst case, he'd go back and massacre an ant nest to farm more points in minutes.
Green light particles appeared.
They poured into Zhang Yang's body, and in the blink of an eye, a brand-new big mantis emerged—its build even more imposing and domineering than the one he had just killed.
Without even taking time to admire his new form, Zhang Yang immediately gave the next command.
"Strengthen."
"Ding, strengthening initiated."
"Ding, strengthening successful. This reinforcement consumed 210 evolution points. Strength +0.7, Physique +0.7, Agility +0.7."
"Holy crap, that much?"
This was cross-level evolution, after all—wasn't it insane?
The sudden surge of immense power made Zhang Yang feel momentarily unaccustomed to his own body. At the same time, his coloration changed from green to deep ink-green, and his body length grew from 15–16 cm to a full 20 cm.
Now he was a legitimate big mantis—seriously huge, about the length of the 20 cm rulers he used as a kid. The serrated edges on his two foreleg blades gleamed menacingly; just looking at them screamed "extremely sharp."
"With this body, I'm definitely a mutant variety. Time to expand my territory."
The swelling arrogance continued to grow in Zhang Yang's heart.
He still remembered a few days ago when that little tiger blew him away with a single breath—honestly, it had been quite a blow to his confidence.
Now that confidence was back. If he ran into that little tiger again today, he wouldn't dare say he could kill it, but he definitely wouldn't be sent flying by a single breath anymore.