Chapter 12 The season when all things grow
There is a big bamboo at the foot of the mountain.
Long Bai cut a bamboo pole with his 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's raining."
"It's not watering."
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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 seeds."
"Oh——"
"Wait a minute!"
Mo Lan flapped her wings and left quickly. After a while, she hurried back with a bag of spider silk.
"Longbai, 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 According to your method, we will open two nurseries and cultivate them together."
Longbai: "..."
...
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 cleared up after the rain and the temperature picked up.
The three transplanted saplings of dragon cypress, juniper 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 its chase in the new year.
Hidden eggs begin to hatch.
The chirping sounds of various birds, insects and beasts in the mountains echo endlessly.
Hungry for a winter, predators become increasingly active.
Elk, wild boar, black bear, leopard, python and other large animals frequently roam the settled mountains.
Long Bai took the only large worker ant on the hillside hundreds of meters away from the ant nest, cut thorny branches from a clump of red thorn vines, and enlarged the control throne to carry it, and planted it on the newly sown giant cypress. Build fortifications around the life species.
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, Mo Lan also increased the amount of food she hunted, and when she couldn't finish eating, 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 double jaws take up one third of the body length, making it ferocious and ferocious.
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, there are 5 small worker ants, 4 medium worker ants, and 2 large worker ants in the ant nest; 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 nurturing 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, assisting Soldier ants exterminate pests in their territory.
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.
The next 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 '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.
A hundred flowers bloom in the mountains, colorful.
Dense spring.
"Long Bai, dinner is ready."
Unprecedentedly, today Mo Lan actually changed the taste and brought a black snake with its head cut off.
The worker ants and soldier ants had no self-awareness, but after all, they were half-Force beings with certain memory and understanding abilities. They all recognized Mo Lan, smelled the meat, and rushed over.
The specialized soldier ants snatched the snake and cut it into segments with both jaws.
Worker ants, large and small, surrounded them, divided them, and ate.
Long Bai slowly walked out of the ant nest and shook 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! In the future, you will definitely become the most powerful ant king in the entire continent!"
"Oh——"
Long Bai has long figured out the pattern of Mo Lan's speech. There must be other small thoughts hidden behind the unremarkable 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 Ten Thousand Kingdoms 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. , gathering in the east of Wanguo Continent."
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, let's set off tomorrow! "
After Mo Lan finished speaking, he turned to look at the giant cypress seed and said, "It has passed its most vulnerable seedling stage, so it should be safe, right?"
“Yes…”
Long Bai asked: "Mo Lan, where are the Xuelan seeds you sown?"
Mo Lan said: "It's almost done."
Long Bai: "Mo Lan, don't be impatient. The caravan of Zeqi Spider King is moving slower than other caravans. We will set off in a few days."
"Okay"
Mo Lan cheered, hurry up. Then he 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: "Molan, when in contact with the caravan, please 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: "Each 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 reach a stable agreement with them. Trade relations. But most of the Zerg are in poverty, the wealthy Zerg are always in the minority, and there is also competition among the caravans."
"The force food produced by the God-given seeds is too expensive and takes root. In the Fertile Mountains, once the news spreads, all the caravans will definitely compete to trade with you, but you can only choose one, or two, or three. If you do this, you will offend other caravans, do you understand? What if one of the caravans feels 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? Kill you, you The god-given seed is also dead, and there is no benefit at all. The clever ant king will accurately calculate the time when the fruit orchid god-given seed matures, and then invade you at a regular time every year.”
"So bad!"
Thinking of her territory being robbed, and being robbed every year, Mo Lan's worry turned into fear and anger.
Long Bai said with relief: "Molan, don't worry too much. Luohe will come next spring. I will look for it privately and reach a stable trading relationship with it secretly."
"This is 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 be strong enough 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 ruling throne. You must not let other insects know about it, they will kill you, and then Take away your treasure."
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.
(End of this chapter)