They Need More Food

“...They’ve been eating way too much lately. It must be because their numbers have spiked again in places I can't see.”

Lin Miao muttered to himself in his heart as he watched the constantly surging ant colony inside the terrarium.

As a result, perhaps because the colony's population was growing too quickly, the fish food Lin Miao had previously bought as backup provisions for the ants was completely gone, and his stockpile of mealworms had also hit rock bottom.

If this had been just a few days ago, Lin Miao would never have encountered such a problem. Now, however, the system kept popping up notifications about their need for food at every turn.

So, every time he fed them, they would just keep demanding more, as if their stomachs could never be filled.

‘Do they think I have an infinite supply of food, so the moment they get it, they dump all of it into breeding?!’

Lin Miao thought, both shocked and exasperated, as he stared at the densely packed swarm of ants inside the tank.

Although it was impossible to count them one by one, he could tell just by looking.

In a mere two days, the scale of the entire colony—including the small ants whose numbers had suddenly exploded—had swelled to an incredibly staggering degree.

Lin Miao couldn't help but wonder if, ever since he started feeding them in large quantities, these ants had mistakenly assumed that food would just appear endlessly.

Then again, even at this very moment, the Queen Ant was laying eggs like crazy.

Literally like crazy. She truly didn't stop for a single second, continuously laying eggs even while eating or resting.

Clearly, after completing this round of evolution, her reproductive capacity had also received a qualitative upgrade.

【Your servants have determined that a new nest should be constructed】

Naturally, the terrarium was completely saturated and could no longer accommodate any more ants.

Even the previously expanded ant nest, which was twice the size of the original, had long since become unable to support the skyrocketing population. Ultimately, they chose to leave the terrarium to carve out a brand-new territory.

And the new territory they had chosen was none other than that otherworld connected through the spatial rift.

In that world, whose name they did not even know yet, the colony began to completely transform the fortress they had previously built into a brand-new nest.

They relocated a massive number of ant eggs, larvae, and stored food, turning that place into yet another main headquarters.

‘That side is only going to get bigger and bigger from now on,’ Lin Miao thought to himself as he watched the real-time footage sent by the system.

Although the terrarium was his main base where he could directly intervene, its resources and space were ultimately limited.

However, the otherworld on the other side was different. There was endless food there, and vast, open lands that they could expand into infinitely.

The colony would obviously not be satisfied with just filling this tiny terrarium. They would undoubtedly propagate and expand without ever stopping in that vast world.

Until their footprints covered every single corner of that entire world.

“Just where on earth did you guys catch so many things...”

The scouts and hunting parties scattered in all directions had grown so numerous that Lin Miao could no longer keep track of them all.

Whenever Lin Miao quietly observed the constantly expanding nest, he would always see large groups of ants bringing back prey captured from unknown places, returning in an endless stream to feed the processed food to the larvae and the Queen Ant.

The prey was highly diverse, ranging from what looked like otherworld beasts to goblin corpses, occasional fragments of humans, and even bizarre creatures whose species could not be identified at all.

【Some individuals have absorbed sufficient magic power and strength, and will undergo evolution once more】

Perhaps precisely because they constantly consumed prey rich in magic power, a brand-new, higher-class unit was born within the colony. These were the soldier ants that had completed a deep evolution.

“...So huge.”

Looking at the brand-new soldier ant that had just emerged from its cocoon, Lin Miao couldn't help but gasp in awe.

Just like the evolved worker ants that had completed their first-tier evolution, these new soldier ants were clad in an exoskeleton that glowed with a faint blue light. Their size was incredibly massive, looking like indestructible heavy tanks.

Lin Miao couldn't help but wonder: if the colony had possessed such combat power during their previous battle with the goblin army, what would the final outcome have been?

Those rampaging goblin warriors probably would have been ground directly into meat paste.

What's more, their numbers were also more than three times what they used to be.

These soldier ants—massive in size and powerful in combat, yet relatively sluggish and possessing a terrifying appetite—were individuals born purely for battle.

The colony was spontaneously strengthening its combat power. Without a doubt, they were preparing for the next war.

Even now, they continued to send out countless scouts in all directions, searching for their next conflict.

“My break is almost over, huh.”

Lin Miao glanced at his phone and let out a soft sigh.

Ever since the first day he discovered the anomalies with the ants, Lin Miao had spent his days staring blankly into space, and the time had simply slipped by.

Because of this, the vacation he had initially thought would be quite long had actually flown by in the blink of an eye.

To be honest, even now, a part of Lin Miao still occasionally wondered if everything happening before his eyes was actually real.

“I need to look around and see what other kinds of ants I can get my hands on.”

Lin Miao snapped back to reality and laid out his next plan in his mind.

Moreover, although he was seemingly just a bystander watching from the sidelines, in reality, there was still a lot he needed to do.

Particularly right now, the first goal he had set his sights on was obtaining more ant specimens.

Lin Miao had already witnessed with his own eyes how these mutated ants, after devouring the small ants he had collected near his home, perfectly replicated their abilities and form.

He was almost certain that if he introduced other species of ants, these evolved entities—which had long since surpassed the boundaries of ordinary ants—would also be able to directly absorb the other species' traits and abilities.

Just off the top of his head, Lin Miao knew of countless species: those with thorns on their bodies, those with massive mandibles, those capable of spraying powerful formic acid, and even those that farmed fungi.

“By the way, how much more do they need to eat to evolve again? Are there any specific conditions that must be met?”

Lin Miao browsed through information on various ant species while looking forward to their next evolution.

After all, according to the description, once they completed another evolution, their predatory range would break past the limits of the ant species, allowing them to devour other living organisms as well.

Although Lin Miao could not predict where this would eventually lead, nor did he know what the end of all this would look like.

This unknown filled him with a deep-seated dread, yet at the same time, it gave rise to an irrepressible anticipation in the depths of his heart.

【They simply want more food】

“Food... Right, after all, that's the only thing you guys care about.”

Lin Miao agreed softly.

After some searching, he failed to obtain any more useful information regarding the conditions for evolution. It seemed that for now, he could only let them feed to their hearts' content and quietly wait for the evolution to arrive.