Chapter 513: Chapter 513

It was late at night when the Great Bee Lord Qiao departed from the hive on the Nameless Island, unfurling a pair of hexagonal wings. He flapped them, rising to the highest sky, then swiftly flew towards Osaka, Japan.

Soon after, Su Wei’s bookstore welcomed a guest.

Su Wei was slightly startled, lifting his head, narrowing his eyes, and peering through his lenses at the bookstore’s entrance.

From the dim street, a slender, pointed tail suddenly crossed the threshold as if greeting him.

Two seconds later, that strange creature finally stepped into the bookstore.

Su Wei silently scrutinized the visitor, who undoubtedly was a half-human half-bee being.

The creature had a slender tail, its entire body hued dark, with human-like facial features. There was a terrifying golden glow coming from its vertically extended pupils. It had two pairs of hexagonal wings on its back, each resembling a beehive.

A Bee Prince, perhaps? Su Wei wondered.

"A rare guest indeed..." he murmured.

"This is the only bookstore open late at night," Qiao slowly walked in, pausing before the bookshelf.

"I see. I was wondering why you would seek out my small shop," Su Wei said, "After all, yes, I’m the only bookstore open at such a late hour."

Qiao extended his palm, taking a book off the shelf, then gently scratched open the protective film with his claw. He sat down right there, legs crossed, silently flipping through the pages.

Su Wei did not attempt to stop him; he merely took a sip of coffee, glancing at the time on the wall.

It was three o’clock in the morning. At this hour, even if Osaka’s streets were scarcely populated, his bookstore welcomed a Light-Eating Bee; if not for the fear of offending, he would have taken out a camera to capture the moment.

Moments later, Qiao suddenly spoke, "You are not a Superpower User. I have eaten Superpower Users; your taste is different. Yet I can perceive... you are strong."

Su Wei adjusted his glasses and smiled, "Is that a compliment from another race? That doesn’t particularly make me happy."

"You didn’t attack me immediately; are you waiting for companions?" Qiao asked, keeping his eyes low on the book.

"No, I welcome every guest who comes to read, as long as they don’t cause trouble."

"Interesting... there are still such humans," Qiao murmured, then said without lifting his head, "Also, I can tell you indeed harbor no hostility towards me."

"You can smell it?" Su Wei said, "The nose of a Light-Eating Bee is indeed unusual."

"Lower beings should not attempt to understand the structure of higher beings," Qiao sneered.

"Are you interested in human knowledge?" Su Wei put down his coffee cup, casually asking.

"Hehe, you don’t quite seem uninterested, flying over dozens of kilometers from that Nameless Island in the middle of the night just to find a bookstore to read."

"I am merely seeking meaning... creatures like us mostly know only reproduction and slaughter, but what is the meaning of reproduction and slaughter?" Qiao said slowly, "Humans have existed far longer than us Light-Eating Bees, so I believe I might find some inspiration from human knowledge."

"I see," Su Wei said, "Then there is still much for you to learn."

"Is that so, I do not deny that point."

"I thought Bee Princes ought to be arrogant beings, given that you produce the next generation of Bee Kings," Su Wei sighed, "But it seems the truth is contrary to my understanding."

"I have no interest in becoming a king," Qiao said, suddenly turning to look at Su Wei, "But do you... truly understand your own situation? I consume humans, or rather, only humans can meet our nutritional needs, allowing us to evolve further."

Su Wei silently lifted his head, meeting Qiao’s gaze. This non-human creature’s eyes were hollow and cold, the golden glow in his pupils like a beast ready to devour, nearly bursting from its sockets.

"Do you know..." Su Wei suddenly removed his glasses, retrieving a glasses case from the drawer.

"What do you want to say?" Qiao asked.

Su Wei squinted, taking out a lens cloth from the box, quietly cleaning his frameless glasses.

"Humans eat humans too," he said softly, his voice still calm and steady.

Qiao was silent for a moment, quietly observing Su Wei’s expression, and then suddenly rested his hand on his chin, "I understand now. You want to use the conflict between our race and those Superpower Users to achieve some purpose."

"You’re quite perceptive," Su Wei was slightly taken aback, then put on his glasses, smiling as he asked, "Is this a superpower? Or is every Light-Eating Bee’s sense of smell as sharp as yours?"

"No, just my probing," Qiao sneered, "And you fell for it."

Su Wei raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh, I just never thought a bug could possess such wisdom."

"I hope you have self-awareness. When bugs as a whole surpass humans, humans are the bugs in our eyes."

Su Wei chuckled, seemingly not intending to argue further, "Since you’ve figured out my purpose, we can now sit down and quietly read."

"If I’m not mistaken, in the basement, you killed over a hundred of our Light-Eating Bees," Qiao said expressionlessly.

He originally thought that Qiao would chat with him so calmly because Qiao didn’t know about the incident in the basement. But now it seemed he was wrong.

"Ah... I thought I could keep it from you. After all, having just moved here, seeing bugs in the basement, anyone would think of cleaning it up," Su Wei scratched his head, speaking with a headache, "So what are you planning? To fight with me?"

Qiao was silent for a moment.

"No, it was they who offended," he said, "Human, I apologize to you on their behalf. You’re a reasonable person. There’s nothing to pity about you slaughtering them."

Su Wei also fell silent for a while, "I never thought, among the Light-Eating Bees, there would be an anomaly like you."

"Right back at you," Qiao said coldly, "Before entering the bookstore, I had anticipated that if the owner panicked and screamed because of my arrival, I would slaughter him and then eat him, as a supplement to book reading."

"I see, that’s why you paused with your tail extended for two seconds."

"Otherwise... I would slaughter you."

"Alright, alright." Su Wei laughed.

One person and one bee sat down and silently read for a while. The bookstore was quiet, with only the fan buzzing as it rotated. Qiao seemed annoyed by the fan’s noise, extended his tail over, and pressed the off button. The fan blades ceased turning.

"If you’re interested in philosophy, I don’t recommend the book you’re holding, I’d suggest putting it back and getting the fifth book on the second shelf row, that’s a more systematically written and meticulous beginner’s book," Su Wei suddenly said.

"Human, don’t teach me how to read..."

Qiao said coldly, but shortly after, he used his slender tail to take down the book Su Wei had mentioned.

"And the seventh book on the third shelf row, it introduces the history of the development of philosophy, comparatively more interesting," Su Wei nonchalantly continued.

Qiao remained silent, using his tail to hook the book from the shelf, placing it by his leg.

"Let me ask you, what is the meaning of your life?" Qiao asked.

Su Wei smiled, "When I heard the news of my daughter’s death, my heart was already dead. Right now, I’m just a walking corpse barely dragging on. But if I can’t give an account to my daughter, I can’t rest my eyes peacefully either."

Qiao, expressionless, pondered for a long time, retrieving such a term from the human concept.

"Indeed, your Bee Race probably can’t understand the pain of losing those you care about, right?"

"Don’t be too arrogant," Qiao said while turning a page, "Our emotions indeed aren’t as complex as yours over short periods. But after consumption and evolution, in the future, whether it be emotional or rational thinking, we will far surpass you..."

"At least you must admit, as it stands, compared to humans, you are just infants learning to walk awkwardly. Even with great ability, you’re merely children playing with rocket launchers," Su Wei said lightly.

Qiao ignored his mockery, suddenly closing the book in his hands, "Looks like... I should go."

"Seems you have quite a bit of self-awareness too, so there’s no need for me to see you off," Su Wei said.

Just now, he had received a notice from the Exorcist Association, that the Superpower Association had reported the sudden nighttime invasion of a human city by the Bee Race’s Great Bee Lord. But the instruments they hastily created still couldn’t detect the Bee Prince’s location.

So, Japan had already dispatched a group of Superpower Users. They were searching around the city for the Bee Prince’s location.

Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before the fact that Qiao was reading in this bookstore would be exposed. The Light-Eating Bee didn’t seem to want this trouble to extend to the bookstore, so it intended to leave.

"Human, I’ll take these books with me," Qiao turned his head, expressionlessly said.

"If it were a bookstore in China, I’d have you write a loan slip; after all, running a bookstore isn’t easy," Su Wei said, "But this bookstore was a gift to me, so it doesn’t matter, take any book you wish to read."

Qiao glanced at Su Wei, seemingly confirming whether or not he was telling the truth.

A moment later, Qiao quietly stood up, using his tail to coil the stack of three introductory philosophy books on the ground, and then hooked them up.

"Qiao, that’s my name. I will come again next time," he said as he walked out of the bookstore.

"Su Wei." Su Wei replied without looking up, sipping a cup of coffee. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩

Qiao snorted indifferently, already stepping out of the bookstore. In the dense night, he unfolded his huge hexagonal wings, then vibrated his wings, soaring upwards with a thunderous roar, disappearing into the night sky.

Su Wei rose from the counter and silently walked to the store entrance, pulled down the shutter. After closing the store, he headed towards the hallway, glancing at the direction of Gu Zhuo Case standing at the staircase.

Gu Zhuo Case looked serious, his eyes still fixated firmly on the store entrance direction.

"Is it necessary to be so tense?" Su Wei asked.

"Father-in-law, I’m just worried that insect might do something to you," Gu Zhuo Case murmured while holding his shoulders, "So this is a Light-Eating Bee? It seems different from what I imagined."

"Indeed, for an insect, it’s quite polite," Su Wei dismissed with a laugh, patting his shoulder, "There’s still work tomorrow, get some early sleep tonight."

Having said that, Su Wei bypassed Gu Zhuo Case, headed upstairs first, his figure swallowed by the shadow of the second-floor corridor.