Of System's six legs, only the right foreleg and the middle leg on the left side were still intact.

  For some unknown reason, the tentacles in his right foreleg were no longer functioning. He guessed that the freeze had affected them somehow, and now they couldn't move at all.

  System controlled his remaining two legs to adjust the angle of his body, preparing to aim his mucus gnds at the distant insect pupa and spray his [Corrosive Mucus].

  However, as System moved his right foreleg, he discovered that there was an obvious crack in the joint where the leg connected to his body. Accompanied by a slight snapping sound, the crack in the joint expanded further.

  Almost immediately, his right foreleg directly broke off, leaving behind only a tendon hanging where the leg used to be.

  Just after his right foreleg fell from his body, the three tentacles inside the fallen leg suddenly crawled out of it on their own and started squirming on the ground like earthworms.

  After staring for a while at his fallen leg and the tentacles that kept wriggling on the ground, System shivered involuntarily, then used his st intact leg to pull over his fallen leg.

  He put the leg into his mouth and started chewing.

  System once again became aware that his emotions were abnormal.

  Although he was eating his own leg, not only did he feel no discomfort, he even enjoyed the taste.

  That was especially true of the tentacles in his leg, which could be said to be one of the most delicious foods System had ever eaten. They were smooth and estic, somewhat simir to cheese, but the texture and fvor were much better.

  'Maybe after the tentacles grow back in the future, I'll find a chance to eat some more. Anyway, with [Limb Regeneration], it won't take long for them to grow back...'

  Strange thoughts appeared in System's mind. He really couldn't understand why he could still think about these things at this critical moment when his life was in danger.

  However, eating the rger, scattered pieces of his body was undoubtedly a great way to restore some of his health. He gave up on attacking the pupa for now and instead used his remaining leg and his abdomen to twist his body and turn to the other side, where half of his broken eye and a broken off hind leg that was still trembling from time to time were located.

  At the same time, the gnds in System's throat secreted [Corrosive Mucus] again. He controlled the mucus to wriggle and used it to wrap up the small pieces of his body on the ground along with the blood that had flowed out of him earlier.

  He didn't intend to waste this food that had fallen from his body and instead decided to eat it all and recycle it.

  One hind leg, half a wing with its broken exoskeleton, half an eye, and another leg...

  System could only find a portion of his body's fragments. Some of the remaining bits had fallen too far away, and he had no pns to try to recycle those. Other parts might have been lost during the collision with the branches, and he wouldn't be able to find those at all.

  After eating and digesting these former parts of his body, System's health began to gradually increase, eventually recovering to 43% and stabilizing.

  The wounds on his body began to feel itchy one after another, and in just half an hour, all of his wounds were covered with bloody scabs.

  His body wasn't completely out of danger, though. If it was still summer, then as long as he was careful and avoided predators, he'd surely be able to recover his body to its previous state.

  But now...

  System knew that his next step was the key to his survival.

  The falling snow in the air showed no signs of stopping. In fact, the snow seemed to be falling even harder now.

  As time passed, the temperature was dropping lower and lower, and sporadic white spots appeared on the ground. The snowfkes that had fallen a moment earlier hadn't completely melted, and the snowfkes that fell a moment ter had already covered the snowfkes that were yet to melt.

  System knew that he had little time left. The temperature in the forest would probably reach below zero at night.

  With the current state of his body, it was impossible for him to return to the temporary nest a few kilometers away.

  The only thing he could do at the moment was use the insect pupa not far away to activate the [Cold Resistance] in his [Insect Adaptability].

  Unfortunately, he no longer had the tentacles that allowed him to use his [Perception] ability, so he didn't know whether he could successfully acquire [Cold Resistance].

  Also, System wasn't very clear on how much of an effect [Cold Resistance] would have even if he got it.

  However, in the end, he had no other choice.

  ...

  System struggled to reposition his body in the muddy pile of dead leaves. He finally managed to get himself facing the right direction and sprayed out his [Corrosive Mucus].

  The angle of the mucus spray was a little off, so it nded about three centimeters away from the insect pupa.

  However, after his third metamorphosis, System's ability to control the mucus over a distance had increased significantly. He could control the mucus to wriggle for about three minutes from up to two meters away before the mucus started to become inactive.

  The [Corrosive Mucus] easily melted the silk threads that fixed the insect pupa to the bark, causing the dark brown pupa to fall from the tree.

  System was very lucky, and the fallen pupa ended up rolling in his direction. When it finally stopped moving, the two were only about twelve centimeters apart.

  System twisted his body and crawled for about five minutes before reaching the pupa.

  The pupating insect seemed to feel uneasy after falling to the ground. Its pupa was twisting around from time to time.

  System secreted more [Corrosive Mucus] to corrode the pupa's solid shell just like he'd done in the past. The brown shell of the pupa was quickly corroded into a light yellow color.

  He watched as the pupa was corroded by the mucus, then stopped before it suffered too much damage. If he only wanted to eat it, he just needed to bite into it at this point using his mandibles and he could suck out the goo inside in big mouthfuls.

  It was difficult for System to investigate the pupa and activate his [Cold Resistance] without using his tentacles.

  After some thought, he broke off the bloody scab that had grown over the stump of what remained of his hind leg, then inserted his leg that was oozing blood directly into the pupa.

  Using the blood flowing from his own body to sense the blood in the other party's body was the method System had eventually decided to use.

  After his third metamorphosis, in addition to having very perceptive tentacles, his blood had also gained a certain perception ability.

  System focused on what he was feeling through their connected blood...

  Since he'd entangled and bound simir insect pupae many times before, System's test this time was much easier than he'd expected.

  In just a few minutes, he sensed the [Cold Resistance] ability inside the pupa.

  Just like the old saying that grasshoppers couldn't hop for long in autumn, System discovered that a grasshopper's bloodline wasn't compatible with [Cold Resistance]. It seemed that grasshoppers simply weren't an insect suitable for wintering.

  If he hadn't already completed his third metamorphosis, there would be no possibility of him obtaining this ability.

  ...

  Due to the sudden return of the Lord of Gciers, snow began falling on Lilt Forest.

  After five days and four nights of snow, Lilt Forest was covered in white just like the Lilt Mountains, and the entire forest was covered with a yer of snow half a meter thick.

  System, who was conducting in-depth research on the pupa, was also buried under the thick snow. Ever since he'd inserted the remaining half of his leg into the pupa's body, he'd remained motionless, as if he was already dead.

  However, on this day, the snow above System's burial mound suddenly moved slightly. A brown tentacle stretched its way out from under the snow...