Chapter 31: Corpses Everywhere

"Ha, it worked," Zeng Shen laughed triumphantly, holding the queen ant in his hand and instructing Blackie to relay his message.

"Tell the queen to order her entire colony to submit to me, to forever obey my commands, worship me, and do whatever I want them to do without question."

Blackie quickly conveyed Zeng Shen's command to the queen.

Soon after, the queen ant laboriously moved her plump body to the edge of the leaf, her antennae signaling to the colony.

Zeng Shen, understanding her gesture, placed the leaf among the swarming ants.

As soon as the queen appeared, the ants gathered around her, initially trying to drive Blackie and its companions away. However, with a slight movement of the queen's body and a twitch of her antennae, the ants stopped.

Immediately, from the dense mass of ants, one by one, ants began to emit a bright white glow of intelligence, the light flowing toward Zeng Shen.

[Congratulations, host! Under the guidance of the Giant Strength Tribe's Queen Ant, all ants have decided to follow her and worship you as their deity, gaining 5500 survival points.]

[Congratulations, host! You have gained 550 nominal followers, and 5500 faith points.]

"Wow, what a gain!"

"550 nominal followers in one go, and aside from five male ants, they're all female!"

"And not only did I replenish the faith points I used, but I also gained a total of 6500 survival points."

"Now I have 9230 survival points, just 770 short of the next ten-draw."

Zeng Shen couldn't help but smile widely. In just two hours, he had gained more survival points than in the previous two or three days.

Indeed, his judgment was correct: the quickest way to gain survival points was to find intelligent species and turn them into his followers.

Afterward, Zeng Shen looked around to make sure no one was watching, then summoned the gate to his divine realm, setting the location to Emerald Valley.

Instantly, a gate over two meters high and three meters wide appeared before him.

Focusing his mind, Zeng Shen compressed the gate to the size of a palm and instructed Blackie, "Have the queen lead all the ants that glowed into the light circle."

Receiving the command, Blackie relayed it to the queen.

The queen ant, following the order, signaled with her antennae, and soon, the glowing ants began to move her body, forming a long black line of over 500 strong ants marching into the divine realm gate.

[Warning! Your followers lack divine energy. Entering the divine realm will cause them to age rapidly.]

As the queen was carried into Emerald Valley, a familiar warning sounded in Zeng Shen's ears, quickly followed by a reassuring prompt.

[Divine realm trait, Divine Protection activated. Your followers gain a trace of divine energy, allowing them to survive normally in the divine realm.]

"Phew, good thing there's Divine Protection. I can bring my followers into the divine realm early."

Relieved, Zeng Shen instructed Blackie, "Now's the time to fulfill my promise. Choose a few female ants that didn't glow, those you like, and bring them to me."

Blackie, understanding the command, rushed into the nest.

Shortly, seven ants with wings, resembling small queens, emerged, three of them carrying young winged ant larvae.

"Wow, you're quite the player, even going for the young ones," Zeng Shen joked, then added, "Alright, you've liked these queen candidates for a while, haven't you? I'll arrange it."

He used Beast Taming on the winged queen candidates, making them his pets.

Then, he commanded them, "You're all Blackie's now. Do whatever he wants, including breeding."

Afterward, Zeng Shen selected ten strong-looking female ants, taming them as well.

He designated these ants as Blackie's personal attendants, signaling Blackie to lead his companions and these attendants into the divine realm.

His plan was for Blackie to establish a Rapid Ant Beast army away from the queen's influence.

As for Blackie II and III, Zeng Shen decided they would serve as the queen's guards, relaying his commands.

Once all arrangements were complete, Zeng Shen waited about fifteen minutes.

Seeing no intelligent Giant Strength Tribe ants left behind, he poured a bag of cat food around the queen and at Blackie's new settlement 50 meters away.

Finally, Zeng Shen closed the divine realm gate, went to a nearby vending machine, bought a 5-liter bottle of ice-cold water, and poured it over the ant mound.

Instantly, the mound collapsed, revealing a mass of ants and eggs.

Zeng Shen stomped on the mound.

[The host, showing no fear of death, has fought a battle of life and death, slaying many Rapid Ant Beasts, gaining 5770 survival points.]

Hearing the system's notification, Zeng Shen lifted his foot from the 'corpse-strewn' ground, stomping once more on the washed-away mound.

No further system prompts followed.

Satisfied, Zeng Shen left, knowing the remaining ants wouldn't survive the cataclysm's first three years. Stamping out the flooded ants wouldn't gain him more survival points.

In his absence, the surviving ants quietly formed new colonies, producing new queens. Within a year, under the influence of divine energy, new intelligent species and beasts would emerge.

But for now, Zeng Shen was unaware.

As he walked toward the botanical garden's exit, he checked his phone to message Li Yuqing and Liu Tongtong, asking if they'd chosen Hanfu outfits.

He noticed a message from Liu Miao, sent half an hour ago, before noon.

"What are you up to? Are you free the morning after tomorrow?"

"What's up?" Zeng Shen replied.

Liu Miao quickly sent a voice message, "I need you to bring that risk agreement to the bank with me the morning after tomorrow. I'll need you to sign."

"Sure, send me the address, and I'll be there."

"Thanks," Liu Miao replied with the address of the city's largest recruiting bank headquarters near Jin Hai Dock.

"I haven't triggered the first event in that area. I'll check it out tomorrow," Zeng Shen mused, sending a video call to Li Yuqing.

The call was immediately declined, but Li Yuqing's voice message soon followed.

"Honey, what's up? Tongtong and I are in the dressing room, trying on Hanfu."

"Sweetie, it's 12:30. What do you want for lunch?"

"We haven't decided yet. There are several Hanfu stores we want to visit, and we're not that hungry since we snacked while shopping."

"Alright, you two keep shopping. I'll grab a bite and head to Li Huo Martial Arts Club. I'll pick you up at the studio tonight for dinner."

"Okay, dear. Wait, what color undergarment do you like?"

"What?" Zeng Shen was caught off guard, but the message was retracted. A new one followed.

"Never mind. Go ahead, dear."

Zeng Shen chuckled.