Project Insectoid: My Hybrid Ascension

It was the dead of night. The only sounds to be heard were the hum of patrolling drones and the distant whir of cyber aircraft.

Liam remained in his room, unmoving from the exact same spot for the past three hours.

His left side was illuminated by the flickering glow of holographic advertising signs near his window.

"Breathe in... and breathe out..." he muttered to himself, mustering the strength to collect his thoughts.

He closed his eyes, attempting to meditate and clear his mind of unnecessary weight. But instead, intrusive desires resurfaced as his stomach growled like thunder.

His dark green eyes snapped open at the gnawing sensation in his abdomen, a whisper in his ear like a devil perched on his shoulder, urging him to eat.

"Ah, forget it!" Liam grabbed the blanket and tossed it aside violently, flicking his wings before settling them into their resting position against his back.

'All of this can wait,' he thought. He had given it a lot of consideration, but none of it changed anything.

What he had seen felt like a terrifying horror movie, and he should treat it as such. The only reason it hit him so hard was that it involved him directly.

"What's important are the things I have right now—and food," Liam declared, standing up and crossing his arms. He nodded proudly, a pleasant smile spreading across his face as he congratulated himself on solving the problem.

With that out of the way, he reached under his pillow, searching for something. But his eyes widened in horror when he realized it wasn't there.

"Wait," he said, lifting the pillow with both hands. There was nothing underneath.

"No, no, no," Liam's voice rose in pitch as he faced the worst-case scenario.

His heart pounded, and his wings began to take on a crimson hue.

"She didn't!" Liam dropped to his knees and peered under the bed, pulling out boxes. Each one contained something—except the most important thing he had been saving.

"Shit!" he cursed, slamming his fist against the floor before standing up to rummage through his drawers. He even began throwing his clothes out in frustration.

Liam sighed in defeat. He had checked every possible hiding spot, but his stash of food was completely gone.

It had been full just yesterday, which meant his mom must have cleaned it while he was out with Ava.

"Really, mom?" Liam hissed through clenched teeth. He could feel a vein throbbing in his temple as he struggled to keep his voice low enough not to wake anyone.

He recalled multiple arguments about this habit of his, but he kept doing it anyway. It gave him a sense of comfort.

Just as all hope seemed lost, something caught the corner of his eye—the last protein bar, hidden among his shirts.

Liam wiped away a single tear as he spotted this heavenly gift.

He reached for it and checked the expiration date, which wasn't difficult even in the dim light. His vision was as clear as day.

"Huh, January third, 2225," he read aloud before opening it and carefully inspecting the texture.

The small amount of chocolate coating was slightly matte, but except that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Seems fine to me," he shrugged, sitting back down on the bed. But before he could take his first bite, blue lines flickered in front of his eyes, and a holographic blue screen appeared out of nowhere—this time without causing a headache.

"You..." he growled, taking a violent bite of the bar. It had a funky taste, but it was manageable.

[Host Data Loaded Successfully]

[Would you like to open the host interface?]

{Yes} {No}

Liam glared at the screen. He didn't trust a single word it displayed after the last incident.

He stared as the two buttons in front of him began to blink. The message disappeared for a moment before reappearing.

It was clear the system wanted him to choose, but every fiber of his being told him to reject it.

"Yes," Liam said, going against his instincts. His heart raced with anticipation.

[Host Details:]

[Name: Zeri'xil]

[Race: Haxel]

[Age: 16]

[Gender: Male]

[Hive Role: Test Subject no. 7-5678K]

[Rank: Trooper]

[Level: 1]

Liam tilted his head as he read the information presented to him.

He ignored the race detail, as it didn't define his morals or values. He despised insectoids or whatever for their desire to destroy the planet he called home.

"That's odd..." he muttered, scratching his chin. Some of the information seemed incorrect.

"Zeri'xil?" He stared at the name on the screen. "But it does roll off the tongue."

He reached out to tap the screen, but his fingers phased through it.

Seeing what might have been his birth name stirred a strange, unexplained feeling within him, but he decided not to dwell on it. To distract himself, he continued reading.

"Luckily, the age and gender seem accurate," he sighed in relief, placing a hand on his chest.

His eyes darted to another blue, semi-transparent screen that appeared to the right of the first. It displayed new information.

[Host Stats:]

[HP: 100]

[Bioenergy: 150]

[Strength: 10]

[Dexterity: 10]

[Intelligence: 5]

[Exoskeleton: 5]

[Free stat points: 0]

"Huh..." Liam studied his stats. They reminded him of the IVR games he had tried a few times at entertainment centers. While he found the idea of visiting a virtual world fun, he disliked being limited to an ordinary human body. For someone like him, it felt too restrictive.

'If only I could get some context for these stats...' he thought, crossing his arms and trying to figure out their value. He had nothing to compare them to.

"And more importantly..." One stat in particular caught his eye. It was humiliating to even consider.

"Why is my intelligence so low?" His voice snapped as he glared at the system, feeling insulted.

In response, a new screen appeared, as if the system could now understand him.

[Due to a system malfunction, I had to estimate host stats based on his past experiences.]

[Host data has been compared to insectoid stats.]

[Host is currently at trooper level.]

Liam raised an eyebrow at the unexpected answer, but it did little to clarify his situation.

"Just what on Earth are you?" he asked, hoping for a response.

[Loading system information...]