Astral Ant Tribe

There is a big bamboo tree at the foot of the mountain.

Long Bai cut the bamboo pole with both jaws and polished it to make a small 'bucket'.

Mo Lan followed all the way and asked: "Long Bai, what are you doing this for? Watering it? It's raining in the sky."

"Not watering."

Long Bai explained: "The temperature in the incubation room is much higher than the natural temperature outside the ant nest. Put water in the ant nest, and then soak the seeds in it for a long time to help it quickly recover from dormancy, which will make it faster The ground sprouts.”

Long Bai: "This is a little trick for sowing, soaking the seeds."

"oh--"

"wait!"

Mo Lan flapped her wings and left quickly. After a while, she hurried back with a bag of spider silk.

"Long Bai, this is my snow orchid seed. I dug it out again. Please help me soak it."

"There are also various orchid seeds I collected last autumn and winter. I plan to open two nurseries to cultivate them according to your method. Longbai, you can help me soak them."

Long Bai: "..."

…

Life seeds are already at the level of the Force, and their vitality is much stronger than ordinary seeds.

After the giant cypress seeds are fully soaked in warm water, they will germinate smoothly the day after they are sown in the soil.

It clears up after the rain and the temperature rises.

The three transplanted saplings of dragon cypress, juniper cypress and juniper have successively sprouted buds and entered the vigorous growth stage in the new year.

Migratory birds return and stand on the branches singing.

The hibernating frog snake wakes up and begins the chase for the new year.

Hidden eggs begin to hatch.

The chirping sounds of various birds, insects and beasts echoed endlessly in the mountains.

Predators, hungry all winter, are increasingly active.

Large animals such as elk, wild boars, black bears, leopards, and pythons are frequently found in the settled mountains.

Long Bai took the only large worker ant on the hillside a few hundred meters away from the ant nest, cut thorny branches from a clump of red thorn vines, controlled the throne to enlarge and carry it, and built defenses around the newly sown giant cypress seeds. .

After Mo Lan finished working on his own territory, he came over to help, moving large rocks and placing them around the perimeter for reinforcement.

At the same time, Molan also increased the amount of food she hunted, and when she couldn't eat enough, she dug holes and filled them with compost near the plants.

There is a light rain every three or five days in spring.

The season when all things grow.

The cypress tree of Longbai grows taller every day and thrives like insects.

The first specialized soldier ant finally emerged from the cocoon.

The body is more than ten centimeters long, almost twice the size of Long Bai. Its jaws take up one-third of the body length, making it ferocious and fierce.

At about the same time, another large soldier ant was born.

Long Bai sent them out to guard the giant cypress seedlings full-time.

At this time, the ant nest contains 5 small worker ants, 4 medium worker ants, 2 large worker ants; 1 medium soldier ant, 1 large soldier ant, and 1 specialized soldier ant.

The number is small, but the differentiation types are basically complete.

During the practice, Long Bai found out the details.

In terms of territory management, medium-sized worker ants have the widest range of applications. They are capable of raising larvae, feeding soldier ants, developing ant nests, dividing food, loosening soil in gardens, etc. They can even work part-time as part-time combat workers to assist soldier ants in exterminating the territory. pests.

In terms of territory protection, there is no doubt that the specialized soldier ants are the strongest. They are the ace of the giant-headed ants.

Next, the ant eggs produced by the Dominion Throne are split 50-50 between 'Guardians' and 'Producers'. Long Bai only breeds specialized soldier ants and medium-sized worker ants.

In the busy spring, territory development is proceeding at a fast and orderly pace.

During intermittent excavation, the second incubation room was completed and named the ‘Soldier Ant Incubation Room’.

The previous first incubation room was named ‘Worker Ant Incubation Room’.

Pheromones stimulate the differentiation of ant eggs and larvae into different levels of ant species, which is an extremely complex process. The incubation chamber is divided into two types, separated to prevent odor transfer.

…

Time flies.

Hundreds of flowers are blooming in the mountains, and they are colorful.

Strong spring.

"Long Bai, dinner is ready."

For the first time, Mo Lan actually changed the taste today and delivered a black-tailed snake with its head cut off.

The worker ants and soldier ants have no self-awareness, but after all, they are half-Force beings with certain memory and understanding abilities. They all got to know Mo Lan, smelled the smell of meat, and rushed over.

The specialized soldier ants grabbed the snake and cut it into segments with their jaws strong.

Large and small worker ants surrounded it, divided it, and ate.

Long Bai walked out of the ant nest slowly and waved his tentacles.

Four medium-sized worker ants came forward with shredded meat in their mouths: The king eats first

The five small worker ants, who also have good eyesight, came forward to comb the membrane wings of Long Bai and clean the carapace.

Mo Lan stood aside and watched with interest.

"Long Bai, you are the real ant king now! You will definitely become the most powerful ant king in the entire continent in the future!"

"oh--"

Long Bai had long figured out the pattern of Mo Lan's speech, and there must be other small thoughts hidden behind the out-of-touch praise and flattery.

It’s not difficult to figure out,

Long Bai said calmly: "The caravan of the Watase Flame Spider Clan entered the Continent of All Nations at the end of winter and lasted about 80 days. When the flowers all over the mountains and fields were in full bloom, they completed the first half of the trade route and gathered in the east of the Continent of All Nations."

Mo Lan accurately captured the core information in the words, looked left and right, looked up and down, and said: "The flowers are blooming? Then they have arrived! Long Bai, shall we set off tomorrow?"

After Mo Lan finished speaking, he turned to look at Long Bai's giant cypress seed and said, "It has passed the most vulnerable seedling stage. With the soldier ants guarding it, it should be safe, right?"

"Yes……"

Long Bai asked: "Mo Lan, where is the Xuelan destiny seed you sown?"

Mo Lan said: "That's almost it."

Long Bai: "Mo Lan, don't be impatient. The Zeqi Spider King's caravan is moving slowly and is later than other caravans. We will set off in a few days."

"Great."

Mo Lan cheered and then asked: "Long Bai, what preparations need to be made?"

Long Bai: "There are no goods that can be traded with the caravan, so there is nothing to prepare, right? This trip may be delayed for several days, so just protect the lucky plants before leaving."

Long Bai warned: "Mo Lan, when in contact with the caravan, do not reveal that you have a god-given fruit orchid seed, nor should you reveal the information that there is an area in the mountains here that is exceptionally rich in natural force."

Mo Lan tilted her head, confused.

Long Bai: "Every caravan has its own route, but this route is not fixed. Driven by interests, they are all keen to pass through those rich Zerg territories and strive to establish stable trade relations with them. But most of them The Zergs are all in poverty, the wealthy Zergs are always in the minority, and there is also competition among the caravans.”

"The force food produced by the God-given seeds is too valuable and is rooted in the fertile mountains. Once the news comes out, all the caravans will definitely compete with you to trade. But you can only choose one, or two, or three. In this way, other caravans will be offended, do you understand? What if any caravan becomes resentful and reveals the news to the nearby ant kingdom..."

"Understood!"

Mo Lan asked worriedly: "Will the Ant Kingdom kill us?"

Long Bai: "What's the benefit of killing you? If you kill you, your god-given seed will also die, so there is no benefit at all. The smart ant king will accurately calculate the time when the god-given seed of fruit orchid will mature, and then They invade at regular intervals every year and loot you."

"So bad!"

Thinking that her territory was being robbed, and being robbed every year, Mo Lan's worries turned into fear and anger.

Long Bai said with relief: "Molan, don't worry too much. Next spring, Luo Chen will come. I will look for it privately and reach a stable trading relationship with it secretly."

"On the Yunji Continent, the exit of the starship is so narrow that the powerful ant king cannot get through, and the large soldier ants cannot get through. If you and I evolve advanced warriors and advanced ant kings as soon as possible, we will have enough strength to protect the safety of the territory."

"I understand."

Mo Lan felt a little relieved, drew inferences from one example, and said: "Long Bai, the same goes for your throne of control. You must not let other insects know about it, they will kill you and then take away your treasures."

Long Bai said happily: "That's right! Mo Lan, you are so smart!"

Mo Lan couldn't be happy.

Come happy and go home worried.