1 Chapter 1 This Ant Queen is Extraordinary_1


    Trantor: 549690339


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    The rainstorm raged for two full days, puncturing the ground with countless holes, before it finally began to relent.


    Faint blushes of evening glow appeared at the edge of the sky as the cries of cicadas came in waves.


    A lithe teenager, about sixteen or seventeen, ran barefoot on the muddy path, sshing mud with every step towards the mountains behind the vige.


    Ah Niu, its getting dark. Dont go up the mountain, or the tigers will eat you, someone called out.


    Its not just the tigers, there are also ghosts and goblins! another added.


    The boy ignored the well-meaning advice and asionally looked up at the sky.


    Then he continued running toward the mountains.


    The vigers shook their heads and sighed; they thought the child might be cursed.


    What a sin for a child without parents!


    Boys cherished by their parents would already be negotiating marriages and warming beds with pretty wives at his age.


    Yet for Ah Niu, even food and clothing were problems.


    The teenager didnt look back as he ran along the uneven mountain path into the chilling quietude of the mountains.


    He climbed arge tree with agile, monkey-like movements.


    Then he waited quietly and patiently.


    Time trickled away, the sky dimmed, and dusk was about to fall.


    His clear, shining ck eyes stared intently at the open space above a weeds-filled field ahead, his gaze steadfast and determined.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz


    Countless tiny dark shadows flowed from all directions in the air, dancing above the open field of weeds.


    This was arge swarm of termites, their bodies white or brown.


    They nketed the sky, their numbers astonishing.


    Qin Nius expression grew more focused as he carefully watched the swirling ants. Every year this season, after a heavy rain at dusk,rge swarms of termites would emerge from their nests, gather, and pursue one another to select mates.


    This phenomenon was known as the mating flight.


    Thest one I picked starved to death before the first batch of worker ants grew up; this time, I must select the best one, he muttered to himself.


    He did not rush but instead patiently sought out the strongest and most promising female from the swarm.


    At that moment, he was like an expert hunter.


    After the termites had freely found their marriage partners, theynded on the ground toplete the act of mating.


    After the act, some of the male and female termites would go their separate ways. Others would find a good spot to dig a nest, then seal the entrance, consummating their matrimony in privacy, forming a lifelong monogamous pair. However, the lifespan of a King Ant was much shorter than that of the Ant Queen, so he would eventually be reced.


    These breeder antscked both the ability to forage and to feed on their own, necessitating feeding from worker ants, and the vast majority of male ants would die within a few hours to several days.


    The female ants would be Ant Queens in waiting; they needed to find a suitable ce quickly to build a rudimentary nest that could shield them from the elements and hide them from predators, then beginying eggs, raising their offspring, and building their Termite Kingdom.


    This process was exceedingly dangerous; out of ten thousand wannabe Ant Queens, perhaps only one or two would sessfully create a kingdom.


    Qin Nius gaze settled on a robust female, her belly round and full.


    Her substantial size made her stand out from the other females, and not just a little bit.


    This one was quickly abandoned by him.


    During the mate selection process, she performed a fancy roll in the air.


    Squandering her strength recklessly showed a profound foolishness. It indicated that the female had no vision and had not considered the long-term survival of her Kingdom.


    The first time he had chosen a female, he chose one of these brainless ones.


    As a result, the queen had died of starvation even before the first batch of workerrvae could mature.


    He was looking for a female with foresight, one who knew how to be thrifty.


    However, such a wise female was extremely hard to find.


    After swiftly giving up on thergest female, Qin Niu quickly sought a new target.


    Time continued to slip away.


    He abandoned one female after another when they showed any less-than-perfect traits.


    The sky gradually grew dark.


    Anxiety started to stir within him as his vision would soon deteriorate, making it impossible to see clearly at longer distances.


    If he missed this chance, he might have to wait until next year.


    In the night, he spotted a diminutive white termite perched on the back of arger one.


    Could such a small male find a mating partner?


    In nature, weak males had no right to reproduce. The strong could have multiple mates, while the weak might die alone.


    This was the brutalw of survival of the fittest.


    He peered closer, no, the tiny one on top was not male, but female.


    A female termite so small? Far too weak.


    After mating, the petite female exerted herself to break off her wings with her front legs. This was to conserve unnecessary energy expenditure and also to reduce the chance of being spotted by predators.


    Because from the moment she left on her mating flight, leaving her original colony behind, there would be no worker ants to feed her.


    She would have to starve until sheid eggs and nurtured the first batch of workers.


    Only when the first generation of workers matured and was sent out to forage, returning to feed her, would she have a chance to eat again.


    If she didntst that long, she would starve to death.


    Thus, it was essential to conserve every bit of energy.


    Surprisingly, she quickly found her next mate, with no forey, mating directly.


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    Fickle creature!


    Qin Niu secretly despised the creature, paying even closer attention to this female ant.


    Finding multiple mates could help acquire more outstanding genes.


    The offspring that were born would also be more excellent.


    In a short time, she had found four husbands and hadpleted mating with all of them.


    The efficiency was astonishing.


    Compared to the other female ants, who enjoyed the romantic and ceremonial pre-mating chase and y, she was simple and direct, everything was for the reproduction of outstanding offspring.


    Just then, several returning birds spotted the delicacy and swooped down, quickly pecking away at the termites that had just mated.


    Each of the physically frail termites was like amb waiting for ughter.


    Seeing that she was about to be devoured by a bird, the petite female termite flipped over andy on the ground, covered in weeds, pulling in her six legs and remaining motionless.


    Was this ying dead?


    Within the order Coleoptera, Seven-spot Ladybirds and fireflies are masters of death feigning.


    But Id never heard of termites having this skill!


    Qin Niu just watched quietly, not interfering.


    The threat of the birds was just the first challenge in his creation of the Termite Kingdom.


    After dodging the first wave of danger, the petite female termite seemed to feel that lying still was not safe enough. She quietly flipped over and began to move, at an extremely slow pace, inching towards the base of the nearest clump of weeds.


    This speed of movement was barely noticeable to the naked eye.


    Thest male termite to mate with her had already been eaten by a bird. Due to itsrger size, it tried to escape by crawling rapidly on the ground upon seeing the bird.


    Unaware that such quick movement also made it a moving target.


    Any termite that caught the eye of even one bird was bound to die.


    The petite yet cunning female ant had sessfully made it to the base of the weeds. Shey there quietly, pressed tightly against the roots of the weeds, motionless.


    After the birds had their fill, they quickly left.


    Many termites survived and were frantically scattering to escape.


    Here and there, frogs lurking in the shadows leapt up, their forked tongues harvesting the lives of termites.


    Nearby spiders also joined the feast, ughtering the defenseless termites. Just as the birds flew away, a group ofrger crows arrived.


    Without any preamble, they began to feast.


    It wasnt easy to eat those termites that hid underground or in tree nests on normal days.


    After the disaster, the vast swarm of termites had been decimated.


    The ground was strewn with the corpses of male termites.


    Humping Ants, drawn by the smell of food, came out of their underground nests in lines to collect the corpses.


    For these Humping Ants, the bodies of the termites were a delicacy.


    Dragged back to their nests, they could feed many young ants.


    The tiny female termite observed the departure of the bird flock, and the frogs and spiders, having eaten their fill, had all rested.


    Only groups of Humping Ants had begun to scavenge everywhere.


    She had to flee this area quickly; it was the territory of the Humping Ants.


    Cautiously, she advanced step by step, each time precisely avoiding the Humping Ant sentries searching for prey.


    Qin Niu began to admire an insect for the first time.


    He followed it until it chose a rtively smooth slope to climb. The area was wider at the top and narrow at the bottom, like an eave blocking wind and rain, and it was also on the leeward side.


    This was a very suitable ce to build a nest.


    He had to admire its choice of location.


    Struggling up the incline, due to the steep slope, it identally rolled down to the bottom of the hill.


    Undeterred, it climbed up the slope again.


    Building a nest close to the bottom of the slope would be too damp, risk flooding on rainy days, and was susceptible to invasion by predators.


    Building a nest halfway up the slope posed much greater difficulty, but the safety factor increased significantly.


    After five attempts, it finally made it up.


    Once it selected the nest entrance, it didnt pause for a moment, using its front legs and strong mandibles to start digging through the rtively soft soil.


    This process was very strenuous for it.


    It needed to quickly dig out a safe initial nest, theny eggs inside and raise the first batch of Worker Ants to maturity before venturing out for food to feed it.


    During this period, it couldnt source food and had to continually deplete its stored energy to sustain life.


    Qin Niu coldly observed itsborious digging without any thought of helping.


    Finally, it managed to excavate a primary nest just 1.2cm deep. Larger female termites usually dug their initial nests four to five centimeters deep.


    It seemed to know its limits and didnt intend to dig any deeper.


    Instead, it began to fortify the nest entrance.


    Its all up to you, now. I hope not to waste another precious Contractual Talisman,


    A Low-grade Contract Charm sold for One Tael of Silver, and he had to sell his possessions and scrimp for a year to afford this Contractual Talisman.


    The stronger the pet, the higher the grade of the Contractual Talisman needed, and in greater quantities.


    This termite was just an ordinary insect for now, so a Low-grade Contractual Talisman would be sufficient.


    He had already tried twice before, but none of the termites he chose managed to live until the first batch of Worker Ants matured.