FB | Ch. 10 - Instagram for the Famous
Added 2025-05-31 09:32:39 +0000 UTCSo there I was, having a picnic with my new friend Carlos.
As we ate, a few interesting things happened. One of them was that I witnessed Carlos splintering.
His two guys had eaten and grown larger. They high-fived, and as their hands pulled apart, a new Carlos stretched into existence between them—while both originals shrank slightly.
It reminded me of someone blowing bubble gum—if, you know, the gum turned into a third guy.
Carlos was quite cheeky about it. He made sure to pull the stunt while I was looking.
Another interesting thing: I finally understood how Carlos was able to see through my camouflage.
“It’s because I was looking at you from different angles,” he explained.
Just like the human brain combines input from the left and right eyes into one fluid image, Carlos could do the same—but with all the eyes of his clones.
By catching my different colors from different perspectives, he managed to pierce right through my camouflage.
I felt so mad for investing skill points into that. Sure, I was safe from lone predators—but completely exposed to aggressive ant or wasp colonies. And those were the worst predators in the insect kingdom.
We talked about all sorts of things, but here’s the only bit I think is worth sharing with you. Here it goes:
“So what were you doing when the aliens called?” I asked.
“Chasing a crook who’d robbed an old lady.”
“Are you a policeman?”
“I used to be.”
That made me feel safer—like if things went south, he could arrest a predator.
“Where were you?” he asked back.
“I was sitting on the toilet,” I said.
“Number one or number two?”
“My bathroom only has two toilets,” I said.
He didn’t follow up. Victory of wits? Or failure as a comedian? Not sure.
Interesting fact: Carlos was the only one who ever asked what I was doing in the toilet when I got insectified.
Most people just assume number two. Probably because I always say I was sitting on the toilet.
I think Carlos asked because he used to be in the force—so he had an inquisitive nature.
Anyway, I digress.
Let’s move on to yet another exciting moment.
We were chewing on some nacho-like wood when all three Carlos suddenly froze.
“There’s someone coming.”
Then he bolted—in three different directions—leaving me alone.
It was all too sudden, and my hopes that Officer Carlos had my back went right out the window.
At least, if a predator was nearby, he’d have multiple targets to chase. That diluted my odds of dying.
I hadn’t heard anything, but just in case, I held my breath and stayed still, hoping no one saw me—and that if someone did come by, they didn’t share Carlos’ multiple perspective vision.
Survival instincts were screaming, but so was a little voice in my head that urged me to just finish the piece of nacho wood in my mouth.
Ever tried to grab a mint in the middle of a meeting? You know how every crackle of the wrapper sounds like thunder?
Yeah… I was afraid of giving away my location because of my snack.
For a moment, I almost convinced myself it would be worth it to draw deadly danger to me—just so I could finish eating those delicious nachos. But I didn’t.
I stayed put for what felt like an eternity. Still didn’t hear or see anyone.
Eventually, Carlos returned.
“They passed by on that side,” he said. “You couldn’t see them because of the grass. Don’t worry—they moved on.”
“How were you able to hear it?” I asked. “Is that some sort of police superpower?”
“Nah. I just added a skill point to Mechanoreception.”
“How does it work?”
“I can sense when someone’s walking nearby. It’s like I’ve got a radar in my head.”
Needless to say, my envy only grew.
Not only did Carlos have a way to detect incoming danger, but he could also split to guarantee his survival.
Meanwhile, all my beetle self could do was stay put, resist the urge to keep eating, and hope no one saw me.
Yeah. I felt pretty pathetic.
But that was about to change.
Partly, at least.
Now let’s move on to the main scene of that day.
It happened once I reached level 5.
Congratulations! You're now a Level 5 Beetle.
New Quest Unlocked: [The First Instar].
The First Instar
Description: You’ve grown large! It’s time to shed what hinders your development.
Mission objectives:
Complete your first instar.
I’d finally unlocked a new quest.
Couldn’t tell what it meant from the name or description, though.
The name ‘instar’ sounded familiar. I might’ve come across it when researching pests.
Maybe my new friend could help.
“Hey, Carlos! Know what an instar is?”
“Isn’t that the app where celebrities post pictures?” he called back.
“You mean Instagram?”
“Yeah. But for stars.”
I know. I know. Carlos was just making stuff up.
Anyway, I was just as clueless as he was, if I was being honest. With no internet access, all I could do was dive in headfirst.
I focused on the word ‘instar’, and sure enough, a system window popped up.
