“Ugh...”
Although the tiger-head hornet was contained inside a test tube, the feel of it was completely different from when he first bought the ants. It was by no means a pleasant experience.
How should he put it? He could feel a heavy, incredibly dense weight.
Of course, this might also be because he had been severely stung by a wasp when he was a child. Out of all insects, Lin Miao feared wasps the most, which probably explained this feeling.
A massive body, monstrous strength bursting from its frame, fearsome mandibles, and on top of that, a sharp, venomous stinger.
Was this tiger-head hornet in the test tube truly an opponent the ant colony could defeat?
【Your servants have sensed unusual movement in the sky】
After getting off work, Lin Miao signed for the package containing the tiger-head hornet and immediately went home.
As soon as he opened the lid of the terrarium, a large number of worker ants inside raised their heads in unison, looking toward the sky. They had already sensed everything.
Every time he saw this scene, Lin Miao felt a remarkably strange sensation.
Seeing them perform actions that ordinary ants would absolutely never do made Lin Miao realize that they were monsters growing larger and stronger every single moment.
“Heave-ho!”
Lin Miao hurriedly opened the lid of the test tube, shook the wasp into the terrarium as if throwing away trash, and then clumsily jumped back a step, frantically shutting the lid.
Even with the lid closed, the buzzing sound of vibrating wings could be heard clearly.
No wonder some people mistook tiger-head hornets for drones. The noise was truly no joke.
【Your servants have fallen into a panic due to encountering a new type of prey for the first time】
Lin Miao wasn't the only one who was startled.
To the ant colony in the terrarium, the appearance of the giant wasp with its buzzing wings was like a combat helicopter suddenly descending upon them.
Moreover, whether in this terrarium or in that otherworld, the ant colony had only ever fought ground-based enemies until now.
At this very moment, they were facing a winged enemy for the first time.
'Of course, even if they just wait it out, it'll be fine.'
Once inside the terrarium, the tiger-head hornet's only remaining options were to fly until it collapsed from exhaustion and died, or to go to war with the ant colony.
The ant colony only needed to wait quietly for the tiger-head hornet to exhaust itself.
【Your servants view this as an opportunity to accumulate combat experience】
But they did not wait for the enemy to fall naturally.
Although the colony instinctively prioritized efficiency and productivity, they also judged that facing a new enemy in battle and accumulating experience was equally important.
More ants emerged from the nest, gathering to hunt down this tiger-head hornet.
As the saying goes, even a massive elephant can be brought down by enough ants.
Even under normal circumstances, no insect could defeat a massive swarm of ants.
What was more, many of the ants gathering now were mutated variants that had broken through their limits.
'It's actually attacking first?'
After a brief scouting flight around the area, the tiger-head hornet unexpectedly charged at the ant colony first.
It was impossible to know what the tiger-head hornet felt when it realized transparent walls blocked the sky and left it with nowhere to escape, but as if refusing to die without dignity, it bared its venomous stinger and lunged at the ants.
【Your servants have recoiled slightly due to the enemy's aggressiveness】
In the magnified view before him, a worker ant was instantly pierced by the enemy's stinger.
Without giving the colony any time to react, the tiger-head hornet instantly took flight again, landing lightly on the leaf of a planted seedling.
The tiger-head hornet was not only powerful but also extremely agile.
Although the soldier ants were as large as the giant tiger-head hornet and could suppress it instantly in a head-on clash, capturing a wasp that flew around so quickly was a difficult task.
However, the colony quickly found a way.
When the tiger-head hornet attempted another low-altitude flight, the venomous ants, who had been waiting for the right moment, began spraying venom.
If the terrarium had been any larger, it might have been different, but in this limited space, completely dodging the venom was virtually impossible.
Yet the tiger-head hornet endured the venom, snatched another ant, and instantly tore it in half with its massive mandibles.
If they continued to fight like this, they would never defeat this winged monster. They could only watch helplessly as the severed bodies of their kin fell from the air one after another.
【The Queen Ant has issued a command to the colony to disable the enemy's wings】
Realizing this, the Queen Ant directly issued a battle command, and a notification popped up.
To his surprise, the command was to intentionally let a venomous ant get caught by the enemy and then self-destruct.
“...”
Watching the venomous ant throw itself toward the wasp without a hint of hesitation, exploding with a bang in midair and splattering its stored venom in all directions, Lin Miao was left momentarily speechless.
Although the tiger-head hornet's exoskeleton endured the venom, its fragile wings were struck by the acidic liquid, melting instantly and stripping it of its ability to fly.
【Your servants have begun hunting down the grounded enemy】
What followed was a scene where the stinging combat ants and the gladiator ants with razor-sharp mandibles swarmed forward, tearing the struggling tiger-head hornet to shreds.
In the end, the ant colony confronted the new enemy and emerged victorious.
In Lin Miao's eyes, this victory was not won purely through overwhelming strength and numbers, but rather through tactical actions adapted to the timing and situation.
【The colony will forever remember this event】
Just as they had hoped, this event became a valuable learning experience for them.
Even if countless ants lived and died in an endless cycle, the memories retained within the colony would never fade. They would remain as nourishment for their continuous growth.
If a winged enemy ever appeared in that otherworld in the future, the colony, carrying the memory of today's experience, would absolutely not fall into panic and confusion. Instead, they would take action immediately.
【The Queen Ant is predating on new prey】
“So, she can digest this tiger-head hornet, right?”
Lin Miao chuckled as he watched the Queen Ant devour the processed ball of meat.
Compared to the massive rhinoceros beetle, the slightly smaller tiger-head hornet should be fine.
【The Queen Ant has found a new possibility and is filled with excitement】
【Although the volume of information exceeds her current threshold, the Queen Ant has judged it entirely digestible due to its high overlap with their existing ecology】
Fortunately, the Queen Ant did not throw it back up.
Instead, notifications popped up one after another, indicating that she was waving her antennae frantically, swept up in extreme excitement.
Hearing that she could digest it because of the many overlaps with their existing ecology, Lin Miao's eyes widened.
This clearly meant that the similarities between ants and bees had aided the digestion process.
At this moment, Lin Miao discovered a pattern: as long as the prey was within the colony's current tolerance, the closer its form and habits were to theirs, the higher the probability of successful predation.
“As expected, this is the correct answer.”
Unable to suppress his inner joy, the corners of Lin Miao's mouth curled upward.
Out of countless options, he seemed to have chosen the correct answer that best fit their current situation.
Furthermore, this was a choice made entirely based on his own judgment.
【The Queen Ant wishes to immediately produce a new class of soldier ants. However, the colony has judged that producing this class of soldier ant as designed will consume too many resources. Even so, the Queen Ant firmly believes that the newly born soldier ants will bring returns far exceeding the investment】
And just as Lin Miao had anticipated, data that the colony could not bear ultimately could not be used.
Even with the abilities gained from predating the tiger-head hornet, mass production remained highly difficult. Surprisingly, however, the Queen Ant pushed past all opposition with her strong will and ultimately decided to proceed with production.
“Yeah, I also think the value of this investment will bring a much greater return.”
Watching this unfold, Lin Miao murmured to himself.
According to the information designed by the First Generation Queen Ant, the eggs laid by the egg-laying queens would receive corresponding investments from their larval stage, eventually growing into a new class of adults.
This newly born, entirely new mutant variant would be the first entity in history to absorb the abilities of an insect other than an ant.
Its appearance would absolutely be completely different from an ordinary ant.
【Your servants have detected suspicious activity on the edge of the western region】
Where would their first stage of appearance be?
Lin Miao had originally thought that the southern human forces, who had shrunk back after their crushing defeat in the last battle, would be their first target. Now, it seemed that might not be the case.
Seeing the newly popped-up notification, Lin Miao switched the screen, only to find that the scouting ants had already discovered a large force of beastkin on the move.
Rate on N.U.
