Chapter 1 – Blue-Spotted Centipede (1)

-Ssshhh.

In the evening, a light rain falls at the entrance of a dilapidated sewer pipe.

In this abandoned sewer in the mountains, half-covered by wildly grown tropical plants, about thirty people unexpectedly arrived.

Among them, a man who seemed to be the leader respectfully performed a fist-and-palm salute and asked,

“Little hero, may we seek shelter from the rain here for just one night?”

I, surprised by the sudden arrival of these men, wondered if they were bad people. Despite my young age, they were polite in their salute and manner of speaking.

They didn’t seem bad, and it seemed they thought I was some young hermit guarding this abandoned sewer.

“I myself settled here a few years ago. You are welcome to stay anywhere you like. However, I am using that pavilion, so please find another place.”

“Thank you. The young hero is indeed courteous. We will do as you say. Everyone, let’s move. Stay away from the hero’s pavilion and find other places to shelter from the rain. Understood?”

“Yes, Family Head!”

The characters for ‘Tang’ on the men’s chests and the reference to ‘Family Head’ suggested they were all from the same family.

Although I was curious about them, I nodded slightly to the middle-aged man and quickly headed to my pavilion.

It was time to feed the kids.

“I’m almost late. Are you all hungry?”

Entering the room, I lit the lamp and quickly prepared dinner.

I opened the lid of a large pottery jar, cleared away some leaves, and grabbed a handful of crickets.

The sensation of the twitching crickets in my hand.

I then opened another large jar and looked inside.

A large body, furry legs.

The slightly yellowish body indeed made my heart race.

After throwing a few adult crickets into the jar, the creature inside swiftly caught them.

True to its aggressive nature, it greedily stuffed the crickets into its mouth.

“Eat a lot, Black. What would I have done without you guys?”

Inside the jar was Black Earth Tiger.

A tarantula species from Hainan, China, or rather, the Hainan Island in the Central Plains, growing up to 20 cm.

Since catching it, it has molted twice and grown close to 15 cm.

After watching it eat, it was time to feed the others.

I watched it catch the remaining crickets and then headed to an old medicine cabinet.

Inside the cabinet, greeted by the Bawangling Cave Gecko.

Another native species of Hainan Island, these lizards had distinctive yellow stripes on their bodies and white stripes on their tails.

“In my past life, they were hard to get due to import restrictions, but out here, you guys are everywhere. I really live for the joy of watching you.”

I waved a cricket leg gently in front of them.

They quickly rushed to snatch the cricket.

“Ouch!”

I removed the one that bit my finger while trying to catch the cricket, and after feeding all the creatures in each compartment of the medicine cabinet, I heard someone’s voice outside.

“Little hero. Are you inside?”

Was it the Family Head from earlier? It felt like the same middle-aged man.

I quickly brushed off my hands and closed the cabinet.

Stepping out of the pavilion, I saw the middle-aged man smiling.

“Grateful for your shelter from the rain, would you join us for dinner? We caught some deer.”

“D-deer, you say?”

“Yes. We caught a couple for dinner on our way. Would you like to join us?”

A deer, something I had never caught before.

Tempted by the meat, I quickly nodded.

In my past life, the idea of eating snakes and lizards would have been unimaginable, but here, the only game I can hunt are snakes and lizards.

Since humans need protein to survive, I had no choice but to catch and eat them, making them my only source of protein.

That’s why I couldn’t refuse the offer of deer meat, a four-legged animal.

‘Sorry, guys… I had to survive…’

After sending an apologetic thought towards the place where I buried the bones of snakes and lizards, I followed the man through rooftops missing tiles and half-collapsed buildings, arriving at the largest pavilion in the sewer.

There, amidst the buildings riddled with holes, the delicious aroma of roasting deer meat mingled with the rising flames, intoxicatingly filling my nostrils.

-Gulp.

The dripping fat and the aroma of the meat instinctively made my mouth water.

As I stood there, swallowing saliva, I felt someone’s gaze on me. Turning my head, I saw the man who brought me here pointing to a spot next to him, smiling.

‘Oh no.’

Blushing with embarrassment, I headed to the spot next to him that he indicated.

Then, his voice mixed with laughter reached my ears.

“The meat will take a bit longer to cook. Meanwhile, I have a few questions, may I ask?”

“Yes, please go ahead, sir.”

It seemed he was curious about something.

Owing him for the meat, I nodded and responded, prompting the man to begin his inquiries.

Usually, it starts with basic questions.

“By the way, do you live alone in these Hainan mountains? How old are you?”

“I guess I’m about fourteen or fifteen.”

“Fourteen or fifteen?”

The middle-aged man looked puzzled, as if questioning what ‘fourteen or fifteen’ meant.

Scratching my head, I replied,

“I lost my memory…”

“Oh dear, what a tragic thing to happen.”

The man looked at me with pity, but the truth was, I hadn’t lost my memory. I had never lost it. It felt more like a reincarnation or possession.

Should I call it a past life? Before dying, I was originally a streamer.

Famous for introducing and raising reptiles, spiders, and venomous creatures on platforms like YouTube, AmericaTV, and Twitch, I was a streamer with a million subscribers. My nickname was Maewoon Fabre.

I got that nickname because I specialized in broadcasting about venomous insects, reptiles, and poisonous creatures.

However, there was a reason I ended up in this world, and in this young body.

A million-subscriber celebration special broadcast.

While filming a show exploring the world’s ten most venomous snakes, I was bitten and killed by a Black Mamba.

‘I must have become one of those streamers who died doing something dangerous… But, why did the Black Mamba have to pop out from behind the fridge at the lodge!’

The Black Mamba, which never showed its face when I wanted to introduce it to my audience, suddenly appeared from behind a fridge in a shabby hotel in Africa.

At the moment I was bitten, I knew I was doomed.

The venom of a Black Mamba is famously potent, capable of killing a person within 20 minutes.

And so, here I am, in this state.

“Oh dear. So, you continue to live here alone?”

“Yes, I have nothing to my name. I catch snakes here and survive by selling their skins.”

“How pitiful that such a young hero has to catch dangerous snakes…”

The man looked at me with sorrowful eyes.

Even I pitied myself, let alone how pitiful others must find me.

While we were talking, two large pieces of cooked meat were presented in front of us.

As I opened my eyes wide in surprise, the man who brought the meat smiled and said,

“Family Head, I’ve brought the cooked parts first. It seemed like the young hero was very hungry earlier.”

Embarrassed once again, my face turned red, but since embarrassment wouldn’t feed me, I quickly bowed my head and accepted the meat.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had meat from a four-legged animal. Thank you.”

As soon as I received the meat, I eagerly tore into it.

-Ugh.

How long had it been since I’d had meat?

Snake meat was tasty, but nothing beats the meat of a four-legged animal.

The dripping juice and savory fat filled my mouth, bringing an instant sense of happiness.

Yes, this is what happiness is.

In my past life, I would have found this greasy taste repulsive, but now, how delicious it was.

After quickly stripping the meat off the bone and happily sucking on the bones, an elderly man with age-worn features brought over a large piece of deer rib and handed it to me, saying,

“The young hero eats very well. Have this too.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Hehe, you remind me of my granddaughter back home.”

As I was busily sucking on my fingers and tearing into the meat, the man who had brought me here, apparently the Family Head, spoke again.

“Little hero, listen while you eat. We came here looking for something. Have you seen anything strange around here?”

I quickly licked the oil off my hand and responded to his question.

“Slurp, something strange?”

“Hmm… How should I put it…”

The man seemed to ponder my question.

At that, the elderly man who had given me the large rib smiled warmly and interjected,

“Family Head, since we have taken shelter from the rain thanks to the young hero, shouldn’t we tell him? It might be dangerous for him too. He lives alone here and is unlikely to tell anyone.”

“Indeed, father speaks the truth.”

It turned out the elderly man was the father of the man I knew as the Family Head.

Encouraged by his father’s words, the Family Head lowered his voice and asked again,

“We are looking for a centipede with blue spots. Have you seen anything like that? We’ve been searching this area for several days but haven’t found it.”

“A centipede with blue spots?”

“Yes. It’s called the Blue-Spotted Centipede. It’s quite large, so you might have seen it…”

The mention of a centipede instantly piqued my interest.

Centipedes are beautiful creatures.

With numerous legs and a sleek body, there’s nothing quite as unique and beautiful among arthropods.

Moreover, centipedes are not insects but arthropods with maternal instincts.

A truly unique animal, right?

And to think it’s a large one with blue spots! A new species!

As Spicy Fabre, I couldn’t just pass up a new species.

I decided to pry a bit for information.

“How big is it?”

“Well? If it’s fully grown, it might easily swallow someone of your size, I guess?”

“Gasp!”

‘A centipede that’s big enough to eat people? I thought I was just transported to a few hundred years in the past, but is this a different world? I must find this one.’

A new species of giant centipede.

The conversation of the two men filled me with excitement.

Seeing my reaction, the old man patted my shoulder and said,

“The young hero seems scared. Don’t worry, we came here to catch it.”

‘Came to catch it? Are there people with similar hobbies in this era too?’

They seemed to mistake my excitement for fear, but it felt like I had found a group of people with similar interests. I quickly asked more.

If they shared my hobby, we could form a community.

We could share breeding information and collection sites.

‘Nothing is lonelier than pursuing a hobby all by oneself…’

A big part of the fun in hobby activities is showing off, and without that, it’s not the same.

“If you’ve come to catch it, are you planning to raise it?”

The two men laughed at my response, finding it amusing.

“Ha-ha, raising a Blue-Spotted Centipede? That’s a funny thought.”

“The young hero is amusing.”

“We’re not planning to raise it. We want to use it for medicinal purposes.”

My excitement waned at their response.

It seemed like they were ignorant folks.

In my past life, centipedes suffered a lot due to rumors about their supposed health benefits, like being good for the back, and it seemed these men believed in such things.

Using centipedes in medicine is, scientifically, baseless, and it made me sad to think another centipede might die for no reason.

Though I had an idea where to find centipedes.

‘Ah, I thought they shared my hobby, but it turns out they’re just ignorant men.’

Disappointed, I decided to enlighten them, fearing for the life of a new species.

“Centipedes don’t have medicinal properties, do they?”

At my question, the two men’s expressions darkened, and the elder explained with a heavy and sorrowful tone.

“That might be true. But my granddaughter is currently bedridden with a severe illness. We believe only the elixir made from that centipede can save her.”

The elder’s granddaughter would be the middle-aged man’s daughter.

Surprised, I looked at the middle-aged man, who forced a smile despite his somber expression.

‘Ah, they must be desperate to try anything to save their child.’

I knew that centipedes weren’t medicinal, but how can a parent’s heart, facing the possible loss of their child, be logical?

They’d want to try anything to save their child.

Hadn’t I spent 500,000 won at a vet to save a lizard worth just 20,000 won that was dying?

Though I felt sorry for the new species…

Having been treated to meat, I felt obliged to help them.

“I haven’t seen that centipede, but I have an idea where it might be.”

After all, if it’s a centipede, it would likely be within the grasp of Maewoon Fabre.

*****

Note:

1) ‘Maewoon’ in Maewoon Fabre translates to ‘Spicy’ in English. Additionally, ‘Fabre’ here refers to Jean-Henri Fabre, a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the engaging style of his popular books about the lives of insects.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – Roshi]