Chapter 1 This Ant Queen is Extraordinary_1

The storm had raged for two whole days, turning the ground into a pockmarked mess, before it finally started to subside.

Faint blushes of sunset shyly emerged at the horizon while a chorus of cicadas resonated throughout.

Barefoot, a frail teenager around sixteen or seventeen splashed through the muddy path, quickly running toward the mountains behind the village.

"Ah Niu, don't go up the mountain when it's getting dark. Watch out, a tiger might eat you."

"And not just tigers—ghosts and monsters too!"

However, the young boy ignored the well-meaning advice, occasionally glancing up at the sky.

He continued to run into the mountains.

The villagers shook their heads in sighs, certain the boy was bewitched.

A child without parents, a real tragedy!

Boys blessed with parents' love at his age were already negotiating marriages and cuddling with beautiful wives under warm quilts.

Ah Niu, on the other hand, struggled even for basic necessities.

Without looking back, he ran along the rough, uneven mountain path into the eerily tranquil mountains.

He skillfully climbed a large tree, his movements as agile as a monkey.

Then, he settled down to patiently wait.

Time slowly passed, the sky gradually darkened, and nightfall approached.

His clear, luminously black eyes intently stared at an empty, weed-filled space ahead, his gaze determined and resolute.

"Hum, hum, hum..."

Countless tiny black shadows approached from all directions in the sky, swarming over the empty weedy area.

They were a large group of white termites, bleached or brown-bodied.

They filled the sky, their numbers astonishing.

Qin Niu's expression grew even more focused as he eyed the flying swarm. Every season, after heavy rain at dusk, large groups of termites would fly out from their nests, congregating to chase each other and select mates.

This phenomenon was known as the mating flight.

"Last time, the one I chose didn't even survive to see the first batch of worker ants grow. It starved to death. This time, I must choose the best one."

He was not in a hurry, but patiently selected the strongest, most promising female termite from the swarm.

At this moment, he was like an excellent hunter.

After termites freely found their 'marriage' partners, they pursued each other and then landed to complete the mating ritual.

Afterwards, some males and females went their separate ways. Some found a suitable place to dig a nest, then entered their burrows, sealing the entrances for a monogamous lifelong commitment. However, the lifespan of a King Ant was much shorter than that of an Ant Queen, so she would be replaced later.

These breeder ants lacked the ability to independently find and ingest food and relied on worker ants to feed them; most males would die within hours to a few days.

The females became 'Ant Queens' in waiting. They needed to quickly find a suitable location to construct a rudimentary nest to shelter from the elements and enemies, then start laying eggs, rearing their young to establish their own Termite Kingdom.

The process was extremely perilous; out of every ten thousand potential 'Ant Queens,' maybe only one or two succeeded in founding a kingdom.

Qin Niu's gaze locked onto a robust, rotund female termite.

Her brawny figure was significantly stronger compared to the others.

He quickly dismissed her, though.

Only because during the mating dance she performed an extravagant, rolling flight.

Relying on her strength, she recklessly expended energy, a clearly foolish act. It indicated she was short-sighted and had not considered the long-term logistics of establishing a kingdom.

He had chosen such 'brainless' types the first time he selected a female termite.

The result was that the 'Ant Queen' had starved to death before even the first batch of worker larvae had matured.

He needed to find a wise female termite who knew how to plan carefully and economize.

But such intelligent female termites were incredibly hard to find.

After decisively giving up on the largest female termite, he quickly searched for a new target.

Time kept slipping away.

Time and again, he would decisively give up on a selected female termite due to some slight missteps in their behavior.

Darkness gradually fell.

A sense of urgency began to cloud his heart as his vision worsened, making it impossible to see clearly beyond a short distance.

Missing this chance to choose would likely mean waiting until next year.

In the cover of night, he spotted a tiny white termite perched on the back of a larger white termite.

A male termite this small could find a mating partner?

In the natural world, weaker male animals had no right to reproduce. Strong males could take multiple mates, while weak ones would likely die lonely.

This was the harsh law of natural selection.

He watched closely and realized that something was off; the smaller termite perched on top wasn't male, but female.

A female termite this small? Too weak.

After mating, this tiny female termite vigorously used her forelimbs to snap off her wings. This was to reduce unnecessary energy expenditure, and also to lessen the chance of being discovered by predators.

For from the moment of the mating flight, she would no longer belong to the old termite group and would not be fed by worker ants.

Until she laid eggs and raised the first batch of worker ants, she would have to starve.

Only when the nurtured worker ants matured, could they find food to feed her, giving her an opportunity to eat again.

If she couldn't make it to that moment, she would starve to death.

Therefore, every bit of energy had to be conserved.

She quickly found another partner, cutting to the chase without any foreplay, straight to mating.

"You unfaithful creature!"

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

Finding multiple mates allowed her to acquire more outstanding genes.

The offspring she bore would also be superior.

In no time, she had found four husbands and had mated with each.

Her efficiency was astonishing.

Unlike other female ants, who focused on romance and ritual before mating, she was straightforward, doing everything for the sake of producing excellent offspring.

At that moment, several returning birds spotted a delicacy and swooped down to peck rapidly at the termites that had just mated.

Each termite seemed as vulnerable as a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

The petite female termite, seeing she was about to meet her end in the stomach of a bird, flipped over and lay on the grass-covered ground, legs drawn in, motionless.

Was this playing dead?

Species like the Seven-spot Ladybird and fireflies were masters of feigning death.

But termites weren't known to have this skill!

Qin Niu just watched quietly, not interfering.

The threat of the birds was merely the first obstacle in establishing her Termite Kingdom.

After the female had survived the initial danger, she seemed to feel that lying still was still unsafe. She quietly flipped over and moved at an extremely slow pace toward the base of the nearest clump of grass.

This movement was barely noticeable to the naked eye.

The last male ant she had mated with had already been eaten by a bird. Being larger, it had tried to crawl away quickly when it saw the bird.

Unknowingly, its rapid movement also made it an easier target.

Once any bird's gaze locked onto it, death was certain.

That smart yet petite female ant had successfully reached the base of the grass. She lay still, pressed tightly against the roots, motionless.

After feeding, the birds quickly left.

Many termites had survived and were frantically scattering in all directions.

One by one, frogs hidden in the shadows leaped out, their forked tongues snatching up ant after ant.

Nearby spiders joined this feast, preying on the helpless termites. No sooner had those birds flown off than a flock of larger crows arrived.

Without hesitation, they began to feed.

Usually, these termites, hidden underground or in large tree nests, were not easy to prey upon.

After the devastation, the vast majority of the termite colony had been slaughtered.

The ground was littered with male ant corpses.

One by one, ants smelling the scent of food, came out from under the ground, lined up, and brought in the dead.

For the Humping Ants, the termite corpses were a delicacy.

Brought back to their nests, they could nourish many young ants.

The petite female termite, observing that the birds had left and that the fully fed frogs and spiders were resting,

saw that only groups of Humping Ants had begun to gather corpses.

She had to escape quickly from this area, which belonged to the Humping Ants.

She carefully made her way, stopping occasionally, always precisely avoiding the Humping Ant scouts searching for prey.

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

He followed her until she chose a relatively smooth slope because this slope, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, shielded her from wind and rain like an eave and was on the leeward side.

This was a very suitable spot to build a nest.

He had to admire her choice.

She struggled up the slope, since its steepness caused her to roll down to the base once unconsciously.

But she wasn't discouraged, and tried to climb up the slope again.

Building a nest near the base of the slope was too risky: not only was it overly damp, but there was also the risk of flooding during heavy rain, and it was easily invaded.

Building in the middle of the slope was much more difficult, but the safety level was several times higher.

After five attempts, she finally made it up.

After choosing the best spot for the nest entrance, she wasted no time, using her forelimbs and strong mandibles to start digging into the fairly soft soil.

This process was extremely strenuous for her.

She needed to quickly dig out a safe primary nest, then lay eggs inside, raise the first batch of worker ants until they mature, before she could go out to find food to feed them.

During this period, she was unable to obtain food and could only continuously expend the energy stored in her body to sustain her life.

Qin Niu watched coldly as she labored to dig, without any intention of helping.

At last, a primary nest only 1.2cm deep was dug out. If she were a larger female termite, she might have dug the primary nest four or five centimeters deep.

She seemed to be aware of her limitations and decided not to dig any deeper.

Instead, she began to fortify the entrance as a defense measure.

"It's up to you now, hoped you wouldn't make me waste another precious Contractual Talisman."

A Low-grade Contract Charm cost one tael of Silver; he had sold his property and scrimped for a year to buy this charm.

The stronger the pet, the higher-grade and more numerous the needed Contract Charms.

This termite was just an ordinary insect so far; one Low-grade Contract Charm was entirely sufficient.

He had tried twice already, but unfortunately, none of the termites he had chosen had survived to see the first batch of worker ants mature.