The results of today's experiment are not very satisfactory. Even if there is black soil to help absorb energy, the big-headed ants cannot reach the winter activity ability of pavement ants. However, the protagonist is not discouraged, he has already expected this.
On the second day, the protagonist changed his experimental method again. This was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but had been planned the day before. Since the first day was unsatisfactory, this alternative can be put to use.
Today, the protagonist still selected ten new worker ants and soldier ants to participate in the experiment. The big-headed ants who participated in the experiment two days ago got a chance to rest. This can avoid physical exhaustion caused by continuous participation in experiments.
The ants participating in the experiment did not crawl out of the hole directly like yesterday.
After sunrise, the protagonist first carried a large clay pot down to the ground and dug out a whole pot of black soil particles.
Then the protagonist carried the black soil back to the nest. One worker ant handed the protagonist a "broom" made of large clusters of twine, and another worker ant came over with a sealed clay pot of ant glue.
The protagonist opens the ant glue sealed in mud. Since ants do not reproduce in winter, there are no young ants to provide ant glue. These ant glues are sealed in autumn for temporary needs, and the ant glue has not solidified yet.
The protagonist used a twine broom as a brush, dipped in ant glue and quickly brushed it onto the test subject's exoskeleton carapace, avoiding sensitive parts such as pores and eyes.
Then the assisting worker ants immediately threw black soil particles onto the experimental subject. Soon, the originally bright yellow soldier ant turned as black as if it had just emerged from a small coal mine.
After all ten experimental subjects followed the same procedure, the protagonist took them outdoors to continue the experiment.
Every half hour, the subject moved. The experimental subjects performed well today. After one hour in the sun, they could move around more freely. Although it can't be said to be the same as in summer, it doesn't have much impact, just like the feeling of wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket in winter.
Moreover, from ten o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon, as long as they are under the sun, they can move freely, and their activity time is much longer than before. Only after four o'clock, as the sunlight dimmed, did they have to return to the nest.
Since there is no "antifreeze protein" in the body, the performance of the big-headed ants coated with black soil is still not as good as that of the pavement ants, but it is enough to meet the needs of some basic field activities and work, and it can be considered as meeting the requirements of the protagonist.
Although the protagonist did not fully understand the reason for the gap with the paving ant barbarians, he still gained a lot. Such a small group of ants that can move in the wild in winter can already do a lot of work.
In the next few days, the protagonist selects a group of strong ants, coats them with black soil, and joins the winter wilderness survival training army.
These ants who were put into training were all members of the "Linshui City" garrison, which was the original garrison of "Linshui City". Because these experimental subjects will all be used as laborers in the future, there is no need to use elite troops. In addition, the Legion of God's Envoy King has been carefully cultivated by the protagonist, and the protagonist cannot bear to let them participate in such a slightly dangerous experiment.
The number of big-headed ants participating in the training soon reached two hundred. Due to the lack of formic glue, the scale could no longer be expanded. Fortunately, as long as the ants smeared with black soil pay attention, the black soil will not peel off in a short time. The remaining cans of ant glue were used as last resort.
The training was relatively successful. Under the leadership of the protagonist, most of the strong worker ants and soldier ants barely adapted to the winter wilderness. As long as there was enough sunlight and the participating ants were not exposed to lethal substances, there was no danger to their lives.
There was also some attrition during this period. Due to unfamiliarity with the wild environment, a few big-headed ants accidentally got contaminated with snow particles. The melted snow particles quickly took away a lot of heat from their bodies, causing them to freeze.
If these unlucky ones happen to be in the shadows, they will soon freeze to death if there is no sunlight to save them in time. This kind of attrition quickly happened several times, and the protagonist had to ask all participating ants to move in groups of at least three ants, and to always pay attention to whether their companions were contaminated with substances that could lower body temperature.
After training for a few days, the weather began to deteriorate and the protagonist had to interrupt the training.
Next, the blizzard quickly took over the dominance of the sun. This time the snowfall was much faster than the previous one, and the thick snow layer quickly covered the entire land.
Even the entrance to "Linshui City" had snowflakes drifting in. The protagonist had to go to battle himself and temporarily blocked the entrance and exit with some filler. Only the vent of the combustion chamber is left as the only outlet for external gas exchange.
On days when the wind and snow were raging, although the temperature in the nest was maintained well, the air was stuffy. This is because there is only one vent and the air cannot convection, resulting in a decrease in oxygen content.
Some weak ants became unwell, and the protagonist had to ask everyone to stay as active as possible to save oxygen. The protagonist also opens the seal on the entrance and exit from time to time to allow air to circulate occasionally.
This heavy snowstorm is not entirely a bad thing, at least the Pavement Ant Barbarian Army cannot go out in this weather. If they were really going to attack other sub-nests, they would have to stop the offensive now to give the defenders a chance to breathe - if this sub-nest had not been conquered yet.
Even though the wind and snow are freezing outside, the work of weaving ropes in Linshui City has not been interrupted. This work no longer requires the guidance of the protagonist, and the thick hemp rope is lengthening every moment.
By the time the storm subsided three days later, the twine was already half-finished.
The protagonist leaves the lair today and steps outside for the first time since the storm.
Everything was covered with snow, even all the branches outside the cave entrance were covered with snow, and there were also traces of snow in the gaps in the bark of the trees. The whole world is already a snow-white world, and only a few trees and boulders can survive being completely covered by thick snow.
The protagonist shook his head. With such heavy snow and such a thick layer of snow, it seems that it will not melt in the short term. With this kind of snow thickness, even the pavement ants would not dare to move on the snow layer wantonly. If they are not careful, they will be killed by the melting snow.
But the protagonist can't do nothing and just wait for the snow to melt, then maybe wait until spring. The winter field training of the big-headed ants has not yet been completed. After the completion of the hemp ropes, they still need to tie the hemp ropes to both sides to form a suspended rope bridge while the ice is firm.
The protagonist looked at the snow and decided to organize the training ants to go out, combine training and work, and make all preparations for the construction of the suspended rope bridge as soon as possible.
