“An adult ant can actually molt...”
Lin Miao's heart stirred as he watched the scene before him.
Although he had seen this more than once by now, the scene before his eyes was still stark proof that these ants were no longer an ordinary species.
But right now, that wasn't the most important thing.
What kind of ability had the Queen Ant obtained after completing a round of evolution?
The most intuitive change was her size, which was now much larger than before.
She was already a massive Queen Ant to begin with, and now she had grown so large that even the previously spacious egg-laying chamber felt cramped.
Contrary to popular belief, though queen ants were often thought of as mere egg-laying machines, they were just as indispensable to the colony's survival as the worker ants.
Just as the hive mind had been further strengthened, some earth-shattering change must have occurred within her.
For this very reason, even though it was already past his bedtime, Lin Miao felt no sleepiness at all. He could only stare intently at their every move.
【Your servants have sensed their loss in combat strength and are attempting to resolve this issue】
Just as Lin Miao had expected, the colony was also keenly aware that the previous battle had cost them far too many casualties.
But he really couldn't fathom what they meant by finding a solution.
Was there any other remedy besides eating and laying eggs like crazy?
【The Queen Ant has sensed her newly born ability, but has fallen into confusion due to her inability to use it correctly】
The notification that popped up next instantly made Lin Miao realize what the colony truly wanted.
They wanted to rely on the awakened Queen Ant's ability to solve their current predicament, but they were struggling to find a way, leaving them at a standstill.
Lin Miao instinctively realized that this was his cue to intervene.
The system had already informed him that the purpose of a god stepping in to assist their servants was precisely to help them accomplish things they could never achieve on their own.
【Insight】
Conveniently, there was a function in the system that could be useful at a time like this.
It was to inspect the servants and identify their talents and potential.
Even if one could communicate normally with their servants, a person's true talent was often something they themselves might not even be aware of. This was definitely a practical and convenient feature.
"Can this be used on ants too?"
Lin Miao chuckled softly and activated the function, wanting to identify exactly what ability the Queen Ant had just awakened.
【Bloodline Adjustment: Can utilize genetic information obtained through predation to adjust bred individuals and recreate entirely new castes】
【Current analyzable biological information: Limited to ant species】
Almost simultaneously, the results appeared before Lin Miao's eyes.
It took Lin Miao a moment to read the text, and even longer to fully grasp its meaning.
"This is practically a cheat-level ability, isn't it?"
A tempest raged in Lin Miao's heart. If his understanding was correct, the ability the Queen Ant had awakened this time was simply ridiculously powerful.
【If they cannot correctly utilize the power in their hands, they can only repeat the cycles of the past forever】
The cycle of the past naturally referred to relying on the exact same system and method they had now—laying eggs and raising them—to slowly rebuild the colony.
But both Lin Miao and the evolved colony knew clearly that this was merely a subpar option under the current circumstances.
"Looks like I need to run an experiment."
Lin Miao stared blankly at the terrarium before him, murmuring softly as he grabbed his coat and put it on.
Late at night, relying only on the dim light from his phone screen, Lin Miao walked toward the flowerbed near his home.
Lin Miao had seen tiny ants crawling around here late at night before, and he planned to catch a few to bring back.
The description of the ability clearly stated that they could acquire and utilize information through predation.
According to Lin Miao's understanding, this meant they could prey on other ant species and absorb their abilities, so he had to verify whether this was actually true.
The Queen Ant had finally awakened an ability but remained in confusion, which, to put it simply, was because she didn't have any usable genetic information at her disposal.
And filling in these informational blanks was exactly what Lin Miao needed to do.
"I choose you."
Lin Miao turned on his phone's flashlight and searched for a while, catching a tiny ant without much effort.
Using the light of his phone, he searched the flowerbed thoroughly and easily captured another small ant.
Lin Miao couldn't even name its species. Although keeping ants was his hobby, he had never really cared about the ants themselves.
The only certainty was that it was a small species of ant, much tinier than the ones he was currently raising.
Lin Miao then caught a few more, put them all in a paper cup, brought them home, and stood directly in front of the terrarium.
Putting wild ants, which might carry unknown pathogens, directly into the terrarium was normally a major taboo in ant-keeping.
But Lin Miao didn't care at all right now, because the colony in the tank was no longer made of ordinary ants.
【Your servants are reacting to the invaders】
The moment Lin Miao poured the other species of ants he had caught into the terrarium.
Somehow, almost at the exact same instant, the colony sensed the intrusion. They rushed out of the nest, their antennae twitching frantically.
Compared to these completely ordinary wild ants Lin Miao had caught on a whim, the individuals that had absorbed magic power and mutated were like ferocious beasts.
Capable of tearing even armed goblins to shreds, they effortlessly crushed the foreign ants Lin Miao had introduced.
Then, as a matter of course, they processed them into meatballs and delivered them to the Queen Ant.
【Your servants have found a path forward】
At the same time, everything went exactly as Lin Miao had hoped—the colony had found a brand-new possibility.
"Is it too anthropocentric to think of separating combat units from worker ants?"
In fact, when he was catching those small ants, Lin Miao had an idea.
If they could truly acquire and utilize genetic information through predation, they could use these small ants as a foundation to create an entirely new caste, dedicating them solely to the duties of worker ants.
The previous war had made Lin Miao clearly realize that having the worker ants double as combat units meant that every time a war broke out, the colony's development would suffer a massive setback.
【Your servants cannot comprehend your intentions】
But clearly, Lin Miao's ideas were still too advanced for the current colony.
Lin Miao tried to guide them a few times but eventually gave up.
However, within such a short span of time, the colony had repeatedly shown evolutions that astounded even him, so he only vaguely thought that perhaps one day in the future, they would finally understand his intentions.
【Your servants have sensed your gift】
Even though they didn't understand Lin Miao's deeper intentions, the colony still knew that these small ants introduced into the tank were not invaders, but a gift bestowed upon them by Lin Miao.
After all, ever since they had settled in this terrarium, everything dropped from the opening—be it food or water—had passed through Lin Miao's hands.
If they were ordinary ants, they might never have understood the meaning behind this.
But having become servants and undergone a transformation, they could now perceive this as the deliberate care of a god, and they understood that the introduction of these small ants also carried the god's intent.
【Your servants offer their gratitude for your gift】
Upon realizing this was a divine gift, the ants bowed their heads in unison, offering their gratitude in Lin Miao's direction.
Although Lin Miao had seen this scene several times already, it felt incredibly wondrous every single time he watched it.
His heart also began to harbor a quiet hope: as the colony grew further in the future, he wanted to receive responses from them that were no longer just mechanical, instinctive thanks, but filled with genuine emotion.
Rate on N.U.
