A Survival Guide for Male Insect Larvae

When Chen Chi woke up, he had become an egg.

Chen Chi opened his eyes and found himself in complete darkness, unable to see a thing. His head was groggy, and he couldn't remember anything, so he felt around by instinct.

Hmm... This curve, this texture. Case closed: he was inside an egg. He couldn't remember anything now, aside from a few basic facts and his own name. Humans were instinctively afraid of dark, cramped places, but Chen Chi felt safe. His body told him that he belonged in this egg, that this was his home. His body also told him instinctively that he needed to hatch. So Chen Chi chipped away at the eggshell for three whole days before finally getting out. He crawled out of the shell to a desolate place strewn with trash. His eggshell lay wedged between two enormous piles of garbage.

Hmm... It was pretty miserable.

After he hatched, the eggshell began to give off a delicious smell. He survived by eating it a little at a time, and curled up inside it whenever he was tired. The shell had plenty of energy. Just a small piece was enough to fill him up. But Chen Chi was so lonely. He was all alone here, and still couldn't remember anything. Instinct told him he had a family, but why hadn't his parents come to get him? Whenever he thought about it, Chen Chi curled up in his little eggshell and quietly sobbed as he wiped away his tears.

At last, his patience paid off. Five days after the little bug had hatched, a garbage ship came flying in. It was an environmental services company making its scheduled garbage drop. The little bug sensed the presence of his own kind and ran toward the ship with all his might. But he could barely walk steadily, let alone run across a wasteland covered in garbage. He took a few steps and fell, then took a few more and fell again. As the ship was about to take off, the little bug could no longer hold back his grievances and burst into tears. At that moment, his mental power connected with his kind. The two female bugs piloting the ship were horrified. Why was there a little bug on this garbage planet? They hurriedly brought the little bug and his eggshell aboard.

They immediately notified headquarters: We found a male bug hatchling on the garbage planet!

I feel like this blurb reads just like the actual story. Chen Chi will slowly regain his memories later.

A mountain of personal headcanons: The bug society has many more females than males, but the ratio isn't quite that extreme. It's roughly 1:2.5, which is still a huge difference. The bugs have a population of around three billion, so that would mean about 2.1 billion females and 900 million males. The sex ratio is still quite skewed. Bug society adheres to the principle of equality for all bugs, but because the ratio between females and males is so uneven, social welfare leans somewhat more toward males. Female bugs are strong and highly capable in combat, but have no mental power until they reach the eggshell-eating stage. Male bugs are physically frail, attentive, and imaginative, and generally handle clerical and creative work. They possess powerful mental abilities, which can soothe the aggression females experience after combat.

Who wouldn't want a male bug hatchling?

Theme: Be brave enough to try, and try to accept others. I'm sure everyone can find wonderful family, romantic, and friendship bonds.