Astral Cockroach

Hei Sang had only been born for two years, but its IQ was high, it had a lot of petty cleverness, and its mind was not mature, especially since it was too playful.

Li Zhu and Ban Bu were both not very reassured about it.

Ban Bu looked at the snakeskin bag Hei Sang was dragging and asked, "Hei Sang, how much Origin Force food do you have left?"

Hei Sang shook the bag and said, "Only 16 hickory nuts and 21 arborvitae seeds left."

Ban Bu said, "Tomorrow, give Ma Zhu and the others 2 hickory nuts and 3 arborvitae seeds each. Remember, solemnly tell them that this is a reward for finding the Mandarin Bamboo."

Ban Bu counted the Chinese juniper seeds in his own bag. There were about 70 left. He separated 60 and handed them to Hei Sang, instructing, "Don't give them any Origin Force food for now. You must find the Red Bamboo before giving it. However, you can clearly tell them that if they find the Red Bamboo, no matter who finds it, there will be a reward of 60 Chinese juniper seeds."

Li Zhu chimed in, "Ban Bu is right. Origin Force food is all grown by us with great effort, so we can't give it away for nothing. Hei Sang, you must try to make them understand a principle: you only reap what you sow."

"Okay, I understand," Hei Sang replied reluctantly, and then asked, "What if you can't find the Red Bamboo you want?"

Ban Bu said, "Then don't give them anything. Before leaving, give them a few as gifts to build rapport and encourage them to work diligently for us."

"Oh!" Hei Sang nodded its antennae.

Ban Bu asked, "Have you introduced them to the prosperity and wealth of our Red Ant Tribe?"

Hei Sang said, "I've introduced them."

Ban Bu asked, "Have you introduced my God-given Seed?"

Hei Sang said, "I've introduced it. They're all eager to taste what the seeds condensed from the Fragrant Grass God-given Seed taste like."

Ban Bu nodded its antennae and praised, "Hei Sang, you've done a good job."

"Ban Bu, you're tricking them into working for you, bad!" Hei Sang complained, but wasn't angry. It was a little uncontrollably happy and proud, saying, "Ban Bu, I'm helping you, shouldn't you help me too?"

This little thing, wants to trick me?

Ban Bu was instinctively alert and asked with interest, "Help you do what?"

Hei Sang said, "A small favor, it's extremely simple for you."

Ban Bu said, "Don't beat around the bush with me, just say what's up."

Hei Sang said, "Ban Bu, when spring comes, the trade caravan will visit your Li Zhu Peak. I'll give you the raw stones, and you help me buy Origin Force food, how about it?"

"Oh, Hei Sang, I can't tell, you're quite clever," Ban Bu asked, "And then what? So many raw stones, all exchanged for Origin Force food? Can your cave fit it all? What if you're discovered by Cliff Juniper or Iron Saber Mountain Lord, how will you explain it?"

Hei Sang said, "No, Ban Bu, I only want the fruits condensed from God-given Seeds, the kind with the best quality and the most expensive price. The quantity will be small, easy to hide. I'll hide them in the cave and eat them slowly."

Ban Bu asked, "What specific kind of fruit do you want?"

Hei Sang said, "Red Oak fruits, Fire Oil Pine nuts, Five-Needle Red Pine nuts, Chinquapin chestnuts… anyway, the kind with a particularly thick shell that can be stored for a long time."

"The fruits shouldn't be too big, pine nuts are the best, so I can eat one at a time and not waste it because I can't finish it."

"…" Ban Bu asked, "Any other requests?"

Hei Sang said, "Help me buy a Spider Silk Bag, not too big, one woven by an Intermediate Warrior would be suitable. I asked, the price isn't expensive, 30 raw stones."

So thorough! This fellow must have been pondering this for a long time, right?

"…" Ban Bu was speechless.

After all, they were Origin Force creatures, they still had some intelligence, what they lacked was knowledge and experience.

Li Zhu said, "Hei Sang, if you eat high-quality God-given Seed fruits, your growth rate will be too fast. The Iron Saber Mountain Lord will see through you then."

Hei Sang said, "That's why I want the kind of dried fruit that can be stored for a long time, and a Spider Silk Bag. I'll hide them and eat them slowly."

Hei Sang happily imagined, "Every time after molting and growing, I'll eat a little. I can eat it for a long time, accelerate my growth, and not be too obvious. Next year, I'll be able to grow into a Senior Warrior."

Hei Sang's seven raw stones exchanged for God-given Seeds were really enough to help it quickly grow into a Senior Warrior.

Under normal circumstances, it takes 2 to 3 years for an Intermediate Warrior to grow into a Senior Warrior.

Hei Sang would probably only need a little over a year to complete the growth of an Intermediate Warrior.

This expedition, the most tired were Ban Bu and Li Zhu, but it seemed that the one who gained the most was this little rascal, Hei Sang!

Ban Bu and Li Zhu were silently depressed.

…

The mountain range they searched next was also named, called "Waste Stone Ridge," it was very long. Because the rock composition of many peaks was similar to that of Jasper Stone Ridge, the ancestors of the Fire Ant Tribe and the Red Ant Tribe had dug many exploratory mines on the mountain, searching deep for raw stone mines.

The final result was nothing, so it got the name "Waste Stone Ridge."

Ban Bu and Li Zhu discussed and believed that Waste Stone Ridge might also have Red Bamboo growing, so they decided to search carefully.

Most ⊥ New ⊥ Small ⊥ Say ⊥ At ⊥ Six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ Book ⊥ ⊥ Bar ⊥ ⊥ First ⊥ Hair!

The mountain range ran east-west. Ban Bu and Li Zhu separated and searched on the north and south sides respectively.

The slope of Waste Stone Ridge was gentle, rarely with steep peaks, suitable for the growth of various bamboos, so the middle and lower layers of the mountain range could not be missed. From a low altitude, the bamboo species of the adjacent bamboo forest could be identified with the naked eye.

The efficiency was not low. That day, Ban Bu found a large bamboo forest formed by Mandarin Bamboo.

It could be seen that, within the bamboo sea of ​​Sheep Hoof Mountain Range, Mandarin Bamboo was not rare. Since this was the case, there must be more rare bamboo species hidden. This greatly increased Ban Bu and Li Zhu's confidence and further strengthened their determination to use Bamboo Rat Warriors to help them search for bamboo species.

Three days passed in a hurry, completing the search of Waste Stone Ridge, with no other gains.

Returning to Jasper Stone Ridge.

Li Zhu carried the snakeskin bag and began digging up Mandarin Bamboo and Tricolor Red Bamboo.

Bamboo transplantation does not require bamboo poles. The large mass of woody rhizomes under the bamboo pole is called "bamboo clump". The dug-out bamboo clump is planted with a few lateral rhizomes. Pay attention to the suitability of soil, environment, and season during planting, and it can easily survive and quickly grow into a new bamboo species.

Ban Bu stayed in the mine waiting. As the dawn broke, Hei Sang returned.

"Hei Sang, did you find Red Bamboo?"

"No," Hei Sang asked, "Ban Bu, is it time to go back?"

Ban Bu said, "It's been a full 17 days since we came out, we must return."

Hei Sang paused for a while, handed its snakeskin bag to Ban Bu, and said with some disappointment, "Your Origin Force food is still there, you should say goodbye to Ma Zhu and the others."

"I should say goodbye in person," Ban Bu asked, "Hei Sang, where are they? Don't delay, let's set off."

Hei Sang said, "I knew it was time to leave. I've already said goodbye to them and given out gifts… I don't have any Origin Force food left, so I can't go again, right?"

You TMD are really efficient!

"Uh…" Ban Bu was speechless for a long time, and asked, "Where are they?"

Hei Sang said, "Near the collapsed mine last time."

Ban Bu nodded its antennae and said, "Good, I'll go in person and give them a final batch of Origin Force food, and tell them to help find bamboo species."

PS: Added a new character "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest", the collective name of seven Bamboo Rat Warriors (too troublesome to write one by one).