Time passed quickly. After Nati taught Simon all the insect languages he knew, he said that he would take him to a large gathering of repair insects in a while.
Insect characters are a mixed language with both phonetic and ideographic parts. The ideographic part is pictographic and is used to represent natural things, while the phonetic part is used to express inner emotions, onomatopoeia, the state of things, and some other abstract content.
This leads to the complexity of the insect writing system. Nati only learned the commonly used ones. There are still many uncommon and advanced characters that need to be taught by elders.
According to Nati, Simon had learned more than enough and there was really no need to learn more, because he had learned many uncommon characters before, but later forgot them completely because he had not used them for a long time.
Simon ignored Nati's nonsense and continued to practice jumping.
The room was not big. Calculated based on Simon's current body length, it was only about ten of his diameters. After deducting the area occupied by the furniture, the area that could actually be used for free movement was less than half. It was a rough rectangle, with a length and width that were about five of his body lengths each.
So Simon jumped along the edge, diagonally, and along the center line. While jumping, he was thinking about geometric shapes in his mind, imagining himself as the tip of a pen, painting freely in this small area.
Simon hasn't enjoyed such childlike fun for a long time.
It's not that there is no opportunity. After all, when he was still a human being, living alone in low-rent housing, it was very convenient for him to do some childish things.
It's just that, firstly, as we grow up, we are less sensitive to childish fun, and secondly, we don't have the endless energy we had as children.
Now that we are in such a situation of lack of entertainment and doing such boring exercises, if we don't have passion in our hearts and courage to persist, we will definitely not be able to last long.
Simon actually knows how to survive. He can choose to hide until the protagonist of the game resolves the crisis, but he also realizes that life is a road of advancement with no retreat. In fact, he can only move forward bravely from the beginning. Once he shrinks back, he will become timid and cowardly, succumb to the oppression of the radiation, and become a walking corpse.
It is undoubtedly right to constantly comfort and encourage yourself in adversity.
Sometimes being too smart is not as good as being stubborn, at least you won't fall into the abyss of self-doubt.
Nati came back to his senses and turned to look at Simon who was jumping around in the room and muttering to himself. He couldn't help scratching his head. This scene felt like déjà vu.
Nati had a strange feeling in his heart, but he couldn't describe it. No matter what, he was still very happy to see the little bug he raised so energetic.
When Simon was tired of jumping, he was ready to stop, drink some dew and eat some insect meat.
At this time, Nati came over with a small bag on his back. "Ah, little one, do you want to go to the big rally? This rally is at the crossroads, very close. I'll take you there and ask the elders to give you a name. You've grown up, and it's time to have a name. Do you need a rest? Or should we set off now..."
Simon looked at the small bag that Nati was carrying. It was made of soft leather with fine scales on the surface, and it looked very durable.
"Let's go. I'll go with you." Simon said concisely.
Nati shouted happily, then handed Simon a glass of water. After he finished drinking it, she took his hand and went out together.
This was the first time Simon left the cabin.
The world out there is big.
The underground world of insects is not cramped. It looks like a kingdom built on the basis of underground caves. Large pieces of hard rocks are piled up to form a flat road surface. Surrounding it is a group of small houses that stretch as far as the eye can see and most of them are abandoned.
Above the head are sparse stone cones, growing downward from the bottom of the upper platform.
The underground world is divided into layers, and this is almost the deepest layer of the Crossroads.
There are many road signs on the main road for decoration. There is a street lamp at a certain distance, emitting bright light, and tiny insects fly around the bulb.
The roadside was sparsely dotted with grass, tough plants with pale leaves and branches that seemed adapted to the dim underground light.
Simon noticed that the stones paving the ground and even the huge rocks surrounding the underground cave were all carved into round stones like snail shells, which seemed to be a unique decorative style left by the insects that built the crossroads.
The dim light underground did not bother the insects, and they could still see the road clearly.
Nati took Simon and walked in this large complex of round houses.
The roads in Hallownest are well-connected, but the roads chosen by the maintenance bugs are even more deep and secret.
Simon soon arrived at an area that had never been covered in the game.
We walked out of the huge group of round houses, rested for a while, and continued on our way.
From time to time, Nati took out a water bottle made of shells from his bag for Simon to replenish water, and asked Simon if he was tired after walking a distance.
It is true that Nati takes good care of Simon.
This journey is longer than expected.
Nati took Simon around for a long distance, avoiding many insect territories, and came to a very remote place.
There are collapsed and broken stone pillars everywhere. The ground is no longer made of piles of stones, but large stone slabs. There are still many carvings that have not been erased by wind and sand.
The maintenance bugs set up a small market here, with many temporary sheds gathered in one place, making the small tribe look lively. Everyone gathered together to eat, drink and chat.
Maintenance bugs are not businessmen or adventurers, so these small sheds that can be seen everywhere are not small shops, but more like small reception rooms, places for emotional communication.
When Nati brought Simon over, there was a small cheer.
Every maintenance bug expressed their love for Simon, which made Simon feel very comfortable and warm.
Simon noticed that there are actually subspecies of maintenance bugs, some of which have a pair of wings. He wondered if they could fly very fast, but he doubted whether such small wings could really support the entire body's weight.
Soon, Simon met the elders of the tribe.
Three elders came to this gathering.
They were truly old. When Simon saw them, he even wondered if they were fossilized insects, for they lay motionless, their carapaces thick with windblown sand, now clumping into layers of shell.
The elders lived in the most exquisite tents, but the tents gave people the feeling of being a museum rather than a residence. These three old insects were like the unearthed cultural relics that Simon had seen before, giving people a sense of distance and being unable to get close to them.
"Ah—" The one in the middle let out a long sigh, looking very tired. "The tribe has gained another member. Very good, Nati."
Nati was extremely excited at this moment, just like a little fan seeing a star, but he was very restrained. The whole insect was like a stretched spring. Simon suspected that in the next second, Nati would jump around in the tent like a real spring.
"Little guy, have you learned the characters?" asked the old insect on the left, his voice very dull.
"I've learned some common ones, but I want to know more."
The old insect on the right is a female, but she is so old that you can no longer see the kindness of an old woman. She had been in a daze just now, but suddenly came to her senses and said to Simon in a praising tone: "Good! Good, it's good to learn more, learn more, it's a pity that the teacher is gone..." As she spoke, she fell into her own memories.
The old worm in the middle said to Nati, "Nati, you can go out now. We need to take care of this child."
"Yes, of course." Nati turned and left. When he reached the door, he secretly turned his head and whispered a few words of encouragement to Simon.