Books with words were not the only type of literature in the world. There were illustration-based and code-based ones as well. It was unsurprising that scent-based literature existed too.
Different scents meant different things, just like how different words could form different essays. This old ant seemed as if it was writing a book by means of emitting scents.
That shocked Wei Huo. Nature was indeed full of wonders and he did not expect to encounter yet another nature's wonder here.
The old Demonic Ant put its stone down and approached Wei Huo. It watched Wei Huo closely before eventually lifted its antennae, and extended them towards Wei Huo's head.
Wei Huo scrunched his brows. He released his inner Qi to form a shield around him. He was worried that the old ant was up to something.
However, Wei Huo saw everything on his Social Feed.
'Demonic Ant Warlock is attempting to befriend you.'
Wei Huo lowered his guard when he read that line. The old Demonic Ant's antennae touched Wei Huo's brow in the next moment, and Wei Huo felt a load of information flowing into his brain. There were countless photos, videos, and numerous scents as well as what each of them meant.
Wei Huo was shocked.
'There was such a function?'
After the information transfer was completed, the old Demonic Ant retrieved its antennae. It seemed like it aged a little more than before. However at that moment, Wei Huo suddenly 'understood' their language.
Truth be told, Wei Huo now understood the meaning behind their scents.
The guiding Demonic Ant checked on the old Demonic Ant, and the latter said that it was fine.
The old Demonic Ant emitted scents, and it was automatically translated to Mandarin in Wei Huo's brain. "Foreign ant. What brings you here to our home?"
'Did they really think that I'm a different species of ants?'
Wei Huo did not know how to answer as he did not have the scent emitting organs on his body. Nevertheless, he wittily picked up a stone that still had the old Demonic Ant's scent on it. That scent represented the meaning 'traveling'.
The old Demonic Ant had recorded on the stone its traveling stories back when it was younger. Other Demonic Ants could then learn its story through the stone.
The old Demonic Ant understood what Wei Huo was trying to relay. It 'said' sympathetically, "So you are a traveler. Such a waste. No one could've expected that you would become mute at such a young age."
Wei Huo was left speechless. "…"
What a grave misunderstanding!
But standing before Wei Huo was a group of ants without eyes or ears. It was no wonder that they could not identify him. They probably misunderstood him because he demonstrated intelligence that was higher than other animals, and not because he had the scent of ants on him.
(The automatic translation function has been activated below. The parts involving Demonic Ants in the following conversations were all translated from 'sensory' writings.)
The old Demonic Ant spoke, "I traveled many places when I was younger. I've encountered many tribes of ants and learned their languages. I've also come across many rare and unique animals. I only understood later that we, the Demonic Ants, are the dominant species."
Wei Huo finally understood why the Demonic Ant tribe was treating him respectfully. They had mistaken him for Demonic Ants from another tribe — the Mute Demonic Ants.
In their opinion, Demonic Ants were the only ones in the world who possessed both intelligence and intellectuality. If they came across other intelligent and intellectual living creatures, they automatically assumed that it must be Demonic Ants as well. It was just that they came in different shapes, and had varying scents as well as languages.
That was a dumb and arrogant assumption.
However, this assumption worried Wei Huo. If Demonic Ants were to continue evolving, would they surpass mankind someday? Would they be able to live with humans in harmony?
Wei Huo clenched his fists. 'Should I kill them while I have the chance before they become stronger?'
Wei Huo suddenly thought of the saying, 'If the baby is already so scary at such a young age, it cannot be left to live. It must be killed while it's still in the cradle1'.
'Why am I acting like an antagonist? Motherf*cker, the Demonic Ant in front of me isn't the protagonist, is it?'
Wei Huo loosened his fist as he thought that he was overthinking the situation. 'The Demonic Ants could just be a test God created for humans. Humans are the players. We possess various types of powerful weapons. We have both Qi-Training Skill and God of Thunder Skill as cheats while you're just a Demonic Ant…'
Bang!
A flame appeared on the old Demonic Ant's palm while it said proudly, "This is my newest invention. I'm using special energy from the air, and I get to turn it into the fire, electricity, and more. This is the foundation of all energy on Earth — I'm calling it 'Qi'!"
Wei Huo was left speechless. "…"
'Hey, if everyone knows all the cheats then this game can't go on anymore!'
The old Demonic Ant looked over at Wei Huo and said, "I can feel the Qi on your body. You're a Qi Cultivator ant as well, aren't you? I am indeed not the only ant possessing this power. This means that the skill can be passed on to other Demonic Ants. Let's work together and research the Qi energy. We can write our own Qi cultivation scrolls for future generations!"
Wei Huo scrunched his brows. 'For the future generations? You were planning on passing the Qi Cultivation Skills on to the future generations?'
Wei Huo could not help but imagine how things could look like in the future. A few centuries from now, tens of thousands of Demonic Ants that possess Qi Cultivation Skills everywhere. That will be around when mankind gets out of the time halt and yet to understand everything. Before they get to make sense of it, they will be attacked by countless Qi Cultivator ants, and there will be devastating casualties. Mankind could go extinct as well.
Wei Huo kept thinking and imagining it. He came to a conclusion at the end of it all. Those Demonic Ants cannot remain on Earth!
Wei Huo looked at the guiding Demonic Ant. That little Demonic Ant seemed like a student of the older one. It seemed like it could sense the Qi on Wei Huo's body, and that was why Wei Huo was invited to the anthill. It had an agenda. They were definitely not friendly creatures.
Wei Huo could not help but overthink it. As the only human who did not experience the time halt, he had to consider the future of mankind. That was an instinct. In moments of danger, an individual would unconsciously consider the well-being of his community or even sacrifice himself for them.
Unless the community left that individual feeling hopeless.
Wei Huo was not feeling hopeless as he had his parents, his friends, his relatives, and the girl he had a crush on. This community had everything he was missing. That was why he did not wish for mankind to go extinct.
As a human, Wei Huo only had one choice. He had to kill the Demonic Ants in their cradles. At the very least, he had to kill this Qi Cultivator ant in its cradle!
Wei Huo had decided as he utilized his skills, a small current appeared on his fingers.
The Demonic Ant students were shocked and retreated. The old Demonic Ant was pleasantly surprised as well. It said in shock, "I can feel a strong gush of Qi."