Luo Wen deeply regretted his sharp eyesight and cursed himself for watching the entire process.
A rare delicacy—why did he have to witness how it was made? How could he bring himself to eat it now? It was a devastating blow to a foodie like him.
He turned away, determined not to look again, and focused on scouting the area.
With his view obstructed, Luo Wen managed to search only a few hundred meters around him before nightfall. He discovered four ant nests, all belonging to Black Ants. These nests were relatively large, likely due to their ability to rear other insects. A more diverse food supply allowed them to sustain a larger population.
As for a new location to establish his own nest, Luo Wen had made his choice. He selected the intersection at the center of the four Black Ant nests. While it was somewhat risky, Luo Wen had become quite adept at concealing his lair.
These Black Ants could only dig so deep underground. Luo Wen planned to build his nest in the deeper layers, as he had done before. Above this, he would construct a transit station completely disconnected from the main nest below.
The subterranean brood nest would be like an isolated island, only linked to the upper transit station during food transportation.
With his mission accomplished, it was time to return. It was already late, so Luo Wen decided to rest for the night and head back at dawn.
The next morning, Luo Wen emerged from the ground, stopped by a nearby ant nest to snag a meal, and began crawling towards the cliff.
Climbing was a physically demanding task, especially for someone of Luo Wen’s rounded physique. His size required extra effort, but it also came with advantages: his sturdy, powerful limbs allowed him to better withstand strong winds. It was a double-edged sword.
Carefully, he examined the cracks in the cliff, staying vigilant for any sudden ambushes. If attacked, Luo Wen was prepared to launch himself away instantly, even if it meant starting the climb over.
This time, however, he encountered no attacks. It seemed the cliff-dwelling spiders were few and far between, and he had simply been unlucky the last time.
It took him the entire day to climb the cliff. By evening, he finally reached the top, exhausted from the effort. The extended time was due to the grueling nature of the climb and a period of strong winds during which he had to take shelter in a rock crevice. Only when the winds subsided did he resume his ascent.
The desert above the cliff presented minimal danger, so Luo Wen decided to travel through the night.
By the following evening, with only a few brief rests, Luo Wen had completed the journey in one day and one night. A trip that had previously taken him over two days was now halved.
Calculating the time spent, Luo Wen estimated that the entire round trip, including time for recuperative rest, had taken about a week. Back at the brood nest, everything was mostly intact, except for the depleted food stores. There were no other losses.
Most of the insects were conserving energy by lying motionless on the ground. Only a few smaller Worker Ants were feeding the larvae. Luo Wen also spotted over a dozen tiny Black Beetles nearby; it seemed the first batch of cultivated eggs had finally matured into adults.
Unsealing the chamber housing the Brood Nest, Luo Wen provided it with some food before linking with it and uploading the newly acquired gene fragments.
As for the migration of the nest, Luo Wen had devised a plan during his journey back.
The current nest population, including adults, larvae, pupae, and unhatched eggs, exceeded one thousand individuals. Adults comprised the majority, followed by pupae and larvae. Since the Brood Nest had long ceased laying eggs under Luo Wen’s orders, there were only a few unhatched eggs left.
Luo Wen instructed the insects to consume all remaining food. Each adult was to carry a larva, pupa, or egg. Luo Wen himself would connect to the Brood Nest, while the Black Beetles formed a phalanx beneath it, linking their armored backs together to create a makeshift platform to support and transport the Brood Nest.
With everything prepared, the migration began in earnest.
Burrower Ants took the lead, digging a tunnel to the surface.
Although communication with Big Black was impossible, Luo Wen had initially intended to leave it behind. However, when Luo Wen and the Black Beetles began dragging the Brood Nest out, Big Black trailed closely behind.
On the desolate landscape, a giant beetle pulled a fleshy lump, which was visibly supported by numerous smaller beetles below. Behind them followed hundreds of ants, each clutching larvae or pupae in their mandibles.
This motley crew of disparate insects marched in harmony, united in their slow but purposeful advance.
The procession’s speed was inevitably slower than Luo Wen’s solo pace. At their current rate, it would take about a week to reach the cliff.
The Black Beetles fared relatively well, occasionally finding tender tree branches to sustain themselves. The ants, however, could only lick tree sap for hydration. Luo Wen wasn’t sure how long they could survive on just water.
Determined to ensure future resilience, Luo Wen resolved to incorporate soil-eating genes into the next batch of larvae. At least then, hunger wouldn’t be as dire an issue.
Each evening, Luo Wen led the insects in excavating a temporary burrow. The nights were chilly, and while the adults could manage, the larvae suffered. On the first night, Luo Wen overlooked this issue, resulting in the loss of all remaining eggs and several larvae. Pupae were unaffected, but two newly emerged adults also succumbed to the cold.
Insects, being protein-based, didn’t go to waste. Luo Wen ordered the others to consume the dead to replenish their energy.
As they journeyed onward, even the sparse Yellow Earth Ants seemed to vanish. Days passed without encountering a single one.
A week later, the migration army finally reached the cliff. Their numbers had dwindled from over a thousand to just over nine hundred.
Losses occurred daily due to various reasons. Most fatalities were larvae that failed to survive the inadequate nutrition, followed by weak newly emerged adults or individuals lost along the way.
Whatever the cause, those were now in the past. They had achieved their initial goal.
But ahead of them lay an even greater challenge.