Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: A special limited-time offer
Of *course* I wanted to know..

“Polly, Workharder, you go there, make sure everything works smoothly… Put the rest of the aphids to the roots… And I have urgent business elsewhere.”

And like that, I fled the stuffy tunnels and escaped somewhere more private—an empty honeycomb cell on the edge of the new hive.

‘System… What are you talking about? Please, tell me I don’t have to play this *fucking* gacha again to not keel over!’

<Yes, user. As a reward for reaching development level 4, you are given a special deal, only available today. If you agree to it, all increasing lifespan genes will be removed from the pool of available genes. Instead, you will gain lifespan directly for achieving next development levels, including this one. Do you accept this deal, user? If you refuse, the deal won’t be offered again.>

I squealed out loud with excitement, like some preschool girl. The relief that poured over me was outright orgasmic!

“Oh my god… Finally… I don’t want to gamble on that shit again!”

I was about to agree on the spot, but a sudden thought made me freeze.

My mom taught me to read all the contracts I sign twice. Perhaps…

Cringing beforehand, I quickly switched the Grand Strategist title on.

It took a lot of effort, but I focused my smart thoughts on the system’s deal, not on my anxieties—and immediately found something strange in the system’s wording.

‘System, what does it mean “gaining lifespan directly”? I won’t have new lifespan genes? And how much lifespan are we talking about while we are at it?’

‘Yes, you will gain only the lifespan, without the genes that can be inherited by your progeny. The amount of lifespan will be equal to the lifespan you could’ve got from the genes on average.’

My shoulder slumped.

I immediately understood the downside of this deal.

If I take it, sure, my life will be calmer, and maybe even longer.

But only mine!

Even Ambrosia will die after several years… How could I betray her like that?

What was the point of living this long if I would have to watch my wife grow old and die in front of me? And my daughters…

I clenched my fists and slammed them on the ground.

“Why the hell you came up with this fucked-up deal, system?! And what if I didn’t think this through?! Were you *trying* to trap me? Well, I refuse! I will play your stupid gacha instead, even if it kills me! At least I will die together with people I love and who love me. And dying is scary, but I’ve already gone through it once. I can do it again, just you watch!”

<Please, confirm—do you refuse the deal, user?>

“Yes, I re-fu-se!”

There was silence. I began thinking that the system went back to its usual background mode, but then—

<Congratulations, user! You’ve passed a test placed by the Goddess of Bees. She sends you a message which you can read now.>

A text window popped up in front of my shocked face.

〔Mortal, I’m glad that you had the sense to not put your own wellbeing above that of bees—intentionally or by accident. It looks that the intelligence I let you keep in this body was worth something! As a reward for the good behavior, I will give you another gift. Keep not disappointing me, and there might be more.〕

The more I read, the angrier I became. Meanwhile, the system continued like nothing happened.

<As a reward for passing the test of the Goddess of Bees, you gain ‘Increased Lifespan III’ gene! You will gain ‘Increased Lifespan IV’ gene at development level 5.>

〔Increased Lifespan II->III: +120 days to lifespan (adds to the previous level).〕

I just stared at nothing for a moment.

Then I smashed my fists into the floor again, leaving holes in the wax.

“BITCH! YOU ABSOLUTE BITCH! I HOPE SOMEONE SHOVES A TRUCK OF LEGO BRICKS UP YOUR ASS AND A FAT DICK UP YOUR MOUTH AND YOU *CHOKE* ON IT!”

My voice was consumed by the soft wax and the buzzing of bees outside.

I wondered if the Goddess of Bees was about to strike me down. But no. If she heard me right now, then she didn’t care. I was just a microbe in her eyes.

‘Don’t lose hope, Nectus. Remember when you spoke the first time? She mentioned a God of Humanity. Perhaps there’s someone who might look out for you, too.’

How strange. Now that I was feeling awful, instead of anxious thoughts, the smart parts of my brain gave me calming thoughts instead.

‘Maybe being smart isn’t all bad. There are worse things out there. And better things,’ I mused. ‘Alright, I have 120 more days, and I already feel physically better than five minutes. Now, just how much development points do I need to earn in 120 days?’

〔Your dominion〕

〔Wellness〕: 85 %

〔Population〕: 42 thousand

〔Territory〕: 2826 sq. kilometers

〔Settlement count〕: 2

〔Development level〕: 4

〔Development points〕: 22 / 1000

〔Species〕: Common Honey Bee

〔Attributes〕

> Workpower: 178

> Military: 54

> Brainpower: 242

> Logistics: 43

> Resilience: 78

〔Resources〕:

> Food: 1845 units

> Building materials: 105 units

〔Colony Council〕

〔Military Adviser〕: increases total military by 10%. (Bloodhero)

〔Science Adviser〕: adds 10% of total workpower to brainpower. (Researchina)

〔Industry Adviser〕: increases total workpower by 10%. (Things-Things)

〔Economics Adviser〕: adds 10% of total workpower to military. (Workharder)

〔Culture Adviser〕: increases all total attributes and wellness by 3%. (Ambrosia)

〔Technologies〕

Dance Communication, Hive Building, Food Preservation, Forager Posts, Rank-Based Hierarchy, Primitive Containers, Border Patrols, Primitive String, Fire, Candles, Primitive Spiked Armor, Primitive Medicine, Primitive Clothing, Stone Weapons and Tools, Work Camps, Cooking, Throwing, Literacy

〔〕〔〕〔〕

‘Excuse me, WHAT?! A *THOUSAND* development points? This is almost three times as much as all the points I’ve earned before *combined*. And I’ve spent three months on it. Now I have the same three months to get *triple* the amount!’

Fucking hell.

There was no feeling better after this.

‘I should spend my attribute points. Maybe there will be some OP gene that will boost my colony drastically? And I should ask Ambrosia what she thinks.’

With that, I crawled out of my hole and flew to the exit.

Ambrosia would make me feel better. The glory, the softness, the truth—and she wanted me.