Rope bridges will be suspended from both sides of the river, as was previously planned.
On the south bank of the river, the planned bundling location is on a root protruding from the ground under a big banyan tree, about one decimeter above the ground. The banyan tree has a well-developed root system, with a large number of roots protruding out of the ground, forming a complex topography under the tree. This is not a good thing for defense, but it makes it easier for the protagonist to find a binding location.
With the help of his subordinates, the protagonist quickly tied the hemp rope at the predetermined location.
The chosen spot on the other side of the river was the tall tree.
Since it would be dangerous for other big-headed ants to set foot on the ice, the protagonist does not want to pave a black earth road on the ice, otherwise the ice will soon melt and create a crack, which will greatly increase the risk of walking on the ice.
So the protagonist crossed the ice alone with the hemp rope and headed to the north bank of the river. Other ants straightened out the hemp rope dragged by the protagonist on the south bank of the river to avoid getting knotted or stumbling on obstacles.
After completing these tasks, the other big-headed ants had no work to do. They followed the previous protagonist's instructions and hid in "Linshui City" one after another.
At this time, the protagonist has arrived at the destination. Although these hemp ropes are countless times larger than the protagonist, they are still pulled over unstoppably by the brute force of the protagonist who enters the "God descends to earth" mode.
The protagonist looked up and saw that this tall tree was bare at the lower height of the trunk. It seemed that there was no place to tie the hemp rope, unlike the big banyan tree which has rugged roots that protrude from the ground.
Finally, the protagonist simply made a circle around the tree trunk one decimeter above the ground, and then used his hands, mouth and feet to tighten the hemp rope little by little. After the hemp rope is stretched relatively straight, the protagonist ties a few more knots to secure the hemp rope.
Now, the suspended rope bridge is complete, with a hemp rope spanning the wide river. However, because the rope is too long, under the action of gravity, the rope takes on an arc shape with a lower middle and higher ends. The lowest point is half a meter high from the current river surface, while the ends of the river banks are more than one meter high from the water level.
This height difference is unavoidable, but there is one flaw that could have been avoided. That is, when the protagonist chooses the locations of the tying ropes at both ends, he always chooses a height of about one decimeter above the ground between the trees.
However, the island on which "Linshui City" is located is higher than the land where the tall trees on the north bank of the river are located, resulting in the overall rope bridge being higher in the south and lower in the north. Fortunately, this curvature does not affect the passage of the ants.
After the rope bridge is erected, this major project, which is extremely difficult in winter, is successfully completed. Seeing that it was getting late, the protagonist climbed back to the south bank of the river along the rope bridge. Experiments have proven that the rope bridge is still very strong, but it tests the user's balance.
After all, such a long and thin rope will continue to sway in the air as long as there is a slight breeze. The protagonist can only try his best to overcome the swaying, grab the fiber of the hemp rope with six limbs, and crawl back to the other side little by little.
——I am the dividing line——
The protagonist who returned to the lair yesterday drank two bowls of hot broth before going to rest.
And early this morning, the protagonist once again organized his subordinates to go out. They followed the road to the suspended rope bridge, and then lined up one by one to board the bridge and headed towards the south bank of the river.
The sun is still very bright today and the wind is not strong, but the rope bridge is still swaying. The protagonist has solemnly warned his subordinates before, so everyone was very cautious and grabbed the hemp rope under their feet very hard.
But the rope bridge turned out to be more dangerous than expected. As a slightly stronger wind blew, two worker ants accidentally fell down.
The protagonist hurriedly looked down and saw that the two worker ants that had fallen onto the ice were not seriously injured. They turned over and got up. But the real danger is the cold ice, which can easily take away the lives of big-headed ants that don't escape in time.
The two worker ants immediately landed on six legs in an exaggerated posture, trying to keep their bodies away from the ice, and then quickly fled towards the south bank of the river in a stilt posture. This escape posture was not taught by the protagonist, but a natural reaction of the two worker ants under the cold and instinctive warning.
Fortunately, they were not far from the south bank of the river. The two worker ants quickly fled back to the bridge and then climbed onto the rope bridge.
The protagonist felt relieved and continued to move forward with the team. Whenever the shaking of the rope bridge intensified, the team stopped moving and tightly hugged the hemp rope fibers under them. Just like this, the protagonist and his party finally arrived at the north bank of the river.
Today, the protagonist wants to lead everyone to start the construction of the bridgehead on the north bank of the river in advance, so as not to build it again after the beginning of spring, when it will be easy to encounter enemy attacks when the facilities are not yet complete.
The selected construction site is on the north side of the tall tree, because the south side is too close to the river, and the protagonist is worried about potential water leakage.
However, the snow in the north is thicker, so the protagonist can only lead everyone to repeat the same trick, continue to dig holes along the bark, and wait until they touch the soil before starting construction.
Because this tree is tall and straight, the tunnels excavated in the ice and snow are also straight, reducing the risk of snow landslides.
Soon, the first ant touched the ground, and then the construction team spread the excavated soil particles on the four walls of the ice and snow tunnel step by step to avoid inadvertent contact with cold snow seeds when moving back and forth.
In the afternoon of that day, the construction team began to formally excavate the soil layer. However, as the excavation deepens, the difficulty begins to increase.
On the one hand, part of the water-rich soil is frozen and hardened, which greatly increases the difficulty of construction.
On the other hand, it is even more troublesome. Due to the construction under the snow layer and underground, the big-headed ants cannot receive energy from the sun, and the heat they accumulate is only enough for them to leave the sun for half an hour. Considering the round trip time, the workers actually The time that can be devoted to work is only fifteen to twenty minutes.
When the nest is dug shallowly, the ants can continue to take turns going up to the ground to rest and recharge. As the tunnel was dug deeper and deeper, the time spent on the road increased, and the available labor time of the construction team dropped sharply to less than ten minutes. In this way, labor efficiency is pitifully low.
Finally, on the second day, the protagonist had to give up his plan to build a bridgehead in advance in winter and led the team to retreat.
In the past two days, four more ants died. They all fell into the frozen river while passing the rope bridge and failed to escape back to the shore in time.
Their bodies were quickly frozen on the ice, and the protagonist was unable to remove their bodies for burial. Every time you pass the rope bridge, you can see these four corpses as a signpost.
——I am the dividing line——
During the rest of the winter, the protagonist basically stayed in "Linshui City" and rarely went out.
In the wild, bad weather alternates with sunny weather, and winter is slowly coming to an end in this constant cycle.
Spring is coming!
