The protagonist followed the police out of the cave where the little secretaries and others temporarily stayed. The soldier ants behind the police followed the two male ants, both as if they were protecting and escorting them. The ant team quickly climbed out of the mound castle and climbed back to the ground.
"Don't the Lao Wang live in this mound?" the protagonist asked curiously. Why did I follow you and go around again?
"The oldest king lives in the deepest part of the main nest." the police officer explained.
"So where is the main nest?"
"The main nest is this mound."
The protagonist was immediately stunned, "The mound is the main nest, and the oldest king is at the bottom of the main nest. Then we have already gone in before, why do we have to come out again?"
"To meet the Supreme King, you need to walk through the most sacred and sacred passage." the policeman replied.
The protagonist didn't understand what the sacred passage was, so he had to continue walking with the tour guide. They climbed higher and higher along the outer slope of the mound, getting closer and closer to the hole at the top with billowing black smoke.
The protagonist is thinking wildly again. He doesn't want to go in through this big chimney, right? Then I don’t have to go see the oldest king, I have to go see the King of Hell.
Fortunately, the protagonist's suspicion did not come true. In a relatively narrow hole just behind the chimney mouth, the police took the protagonist into it.
This opening is not as spacious as the entrances and exits at the bottom of the mound castle. The so-called sacred passage inside can only allow three ants to pass side by side. But the protagonist saw the unusualness of this passage at a glance. In addition to the very high position of the cave entrance, second only to the chimney mouth and higher than all other cave entrances for ants to enter and exit, the most eye-catching thing is that the edges of the walls of the cave entrance are all covered with white pebbles. This is obviously not a natural formation. It's not as simple as digging a hole in the soil. This is a relatively mature construction method.
These white pebbles are very close in size, about the same size as a male ant. The pebbles have no trace of polishing and have a naturally formed long oval shape, as if they were transported directly from the gravel beach by the river. These white pebbles are piled up layer by layer on the outer wall and entrance passage of the cave, and are firmly stuck to the soil layer with an adhesive that the protagonist has never seen before, just like the walls humans build with cement and gravel. .
The protagonist has never seen this kind of cobblestone passage in the secondary nest where he was born before, nor in the passage at the bottom of the main nest where the secretaries and others are placed. The comparison between the two sides is like the difference between a gravel road and a rural dirt road. This is another manifestation of the degree of civilization. At least ants have an adhesive comparable to cement and construction technology similar to brick walls.
The white cobblestones on the wall look very familiar, as if they are the same material as the cobblestone platform on the floor of the classroom where Lao Wang teaches.
Out of curiosity, the protagonist put his tentacles on the wall and input the signal. Because he didn't know what to say, he said casually: "I'm coming!". Sure enough, the message was delivered smoothly, although the protagonist didn't know where it was delivered or how far it could be delivered.
The police have been marching side by side with the protagonist while keeping a close eye on him. Seeing the protagonist's behavior, he immediately ran over and warned the protagonist with his tentacles: "Stop, you reckless king. Only the oldest king can accept God's will, and other kings have no right to touch the stones of the sacred passage."
The protagonist didn't want to violate a taboo with a random act, so he quickly retreated in despair. Then he asked the police without giving up: "What is the sacred passage?"
"It is a channel to receive God's will from heaven."
"Oh, will God still give you a will?"
"The oldest king will accept God's decree."
"What will God have given?"
"Many, many, any major matters will be consulted by the Most Lao Wang."
Okay, the protagonist roughly understands that this is still a society where religion is paramount. Similar to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, turtle shells or bones were used for divination before sacrifices or conquests.
"What will happen if other ants touch the stones of the sacred passage privately?" the protagonist asked again.
"The adult king will be punished by being thrown into the fire." The cold words and emotions of the police came through the tentacles: "You are still unmarried and don't know the prohibition, so you don't need to be punished. From now on, you already know the prohibition, and you will be punished if you violate it again. There will be penalties.”
The protagonist was shocked. Isn't this the burning method used by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages to execute heretics? The religions of ancient and modern Chinese and foreigners all have the same virtues. The protagonist asked unwillingly: "What should we do if the queen ant, soldier ants and worker ants come into contact? Is there no regulation?"
"The queen cannot come here, and the soldier ants and worker ants cannot receive the divine decree." The policeman explained patiently.
Well, although the male ants are the kings of the ants, they can't do whatever they want. After all, when religion comes into play in any matter, the divine authority will strive to override secular rights, and even the ant society is not immune.
The passage covered with white cobblestones slopes downward almost vertically. Fortunately, the protagonist has become accustomed to the climbing method of ants. He does not feel awkward climbing down on his head and feet, and he can continue to chat with the police officers standing side by side. Perhaps because of the proximity to the flue, the protagonist felt that the pebbles under his feet were warm and did not burn his feet. Instead, he felt comfortable.
The passage is extremely long, and because it is covered with cobblestones, fluorescent bacteria cannot grow. At first, the sunlight reflected by the white pebbles at the entrance of the cave can provide illumination, but as the passage goes deeper and deeper, the light becomes dimmer and dimmer. In the end, even the protagonist's unusually excellent night vision ability after traveling through time becomes useless. . The protagonist feels that he has been crawling headfirst for a long, long time, so long that he has lost the specific perception of the passage of time. Completely invisible, the protagonist is forced to continue moving forward using the ants' usual tentacle pathfinding unit. In the darkness, all teammates around him seem to have disappeared. Even the tentacles can still hear the rustling vibrations caused by their crawling. But in my heart, I already believed that I was crawling alone in the dark, lonely and cold endless road. The protagonist feels that he is about to fall into a dark syndrome.
Finally, a little yellow light appeared at the end of the passage. As the protagonist crawled mechanically, the yellow light got closer and closer, and the passage finally reached the end. After turning a straight 90-degree turn, the police led the protagonist into a spacious passage parallel to the ground. The passage floor is still made of numerous white pebbles, but the walls and ceiling have been restored to common soil.
The parallel passage extends not far, and there is a nest chamber. The nest chamber is extremely bright, shining with orange-red light, making this parallel passage also extremely bright.
"The oldest Wang is right in front." The police officer turned around and told the protagonist: "Young Wang who is not married yet is not allowed to send any messages after entering. Please follow my command."
