The blue waves, blue sky and white clouds printed reflections on the lake surface, and then were distorted, broken and restored under the fine ripples, like a dynamic GIF picture or a living landscape painting.
A strange floating object made of walnut and wood cuts a peaceful path across the lake, disrupting the flowing animation.
The walnut boat fleet sailed away from the shore of the lake and sailed northeastward with the wind for half a day. At this moment, it had penetrated deep into the center of the lake.
This lake is not that big in the eyes of humans, but in the eyes of ants, it is as wide as the sea. The fleet is like the lifeboat in "Life of Pi", drifting alone in the sky and water.
While the waves were still calm, the protagonist simply climbed up to the top along the mast. From here, he could still see the shore and even vaguely see the big poplar trees in [Dongyang City]. That was his hometown.
In fact, the protagonist's move is quite dangerous. The physiological structure of ants determines that they are destined to be unable to swim, and they will be in danger once they fall into the water.
Humans and other animals have their noses on their heads. As long as they keep their nostrils above the water, they can breathe without drowning. This is a species suitable for swimming.
In fact, compared to other mammals, the physiological structure of humans is not suitable for swimming: human nostrils point downward, and when keeping the head on the water in a floating posture, the nostrils are very close to the water surface, making it easier to choke. As long as pigs and dogs raise their heads, their nostrils can keep pointing toward the sky.
But the shortcomings of human beings are nothing compared to the shortcomings of ants. The nostrils, that is, the stomata of ants are located on the abdomen. As long as they enter the water, they will be soaked by the water. Moreover, ants breathe passively. Once they drown, they cannot even hold their breath.
When an ant falls into the water, it can only rely on the tension of the water film to ensure that it floats on the water as much as possible, and then relies on luck to land as soon as possible, otherwise it will die or not.
Therefore, although most ants boarded the ship based on orders, they remained hiding in the cabin and did not dare to come out, even the bravest warriors. Therefore, no other ants noticed the protagonist's bold move and came to advise him.
The protagonist does not take risks casually. He is very strong. He grabs the joints of the mast and hooks them on the rough surface of the mast, fixing himself tightly. Even if a strong wind blows, he will never be able to blow him away.
After staying on the mast for a while, I felt that the wind was indeed increasing, so the protagonist stopped taking risks and climbed down.
The original southwest wind has now turned into a south wind, bringing with it the warm and humid comfort from the south. But the protagonist doesn't like this wind. If the wind is too strong and the walnut boat is sailing too fast, it may not be conducive to turning at the mouth of the creek. Even if the Bee Flying Knights try their best to pull fiber, it will be difficult to fight against the strong wind.
At that time, the fleet will have to choose an opportunity to dock, wait until the wind and waves pass, and then correct the route and set sail, which is very time-consuming. The fleet only has enough food for a week, and what they fear most is the delay on the road.
The protagonist observed the sky for a while and realized that something was wrong. The wind from the south was not only getting stronger and stronger, but also through the backbone of the hills on the horizon, a wave of dark clouds emerged from the sky and swept in at an extremely fast speed.
This is another sign that a rainstorm is coming!
It's the rainy season now, and violent thunderstorms are common and come quickly. Sometimes the ants don't even have time to predict before they rain.
Storms are a huge hazard to navigation. In the past, the sailing period of the walnut ship fleet was mainly concentrated in autumn, and we had never encountered such thunderstorms.
Now, the fleet is about to undergo a test, a test from nature, an enemy a hundred times more vicious than the Destroyer.
The protagonist also didn't expect that he would catch a storm this time when he set sail on a boat, but now the fleet with little maneuverability could not escape and could only push through it.
Fortunately, natural walnut is strong enough to survive the most violent storms. The connection between walnut boats relies on wooden sticks and ropes, which are an elastic structure that can well buffer external forces.
The only things you need to worry about are fragile structures such as masts and sails, and bee mounts that are outside the cabin and are inaccessible.
The protagonist immediately ordered the sails to be lowered. The sailor ants climbed to each ship along the ropes between the ship's masts to convey the order, and then untied the ropes that fixed the sails. The sails fell along with gravity, were restricted by the ropes, landed on the ship, and were then tied up. On the crossbar, secure it again. These sails can only be placed in the open air. There is no space to store them in the cabin, and the entrance is not large enough to accommodate the rails on the sails.
As for the bees, they couldn't get into the small walnut boat. Fortunately, in the previous voyages, the fiber-drawing flying knights had encountered similar situations several times and knew how to deal with them.
The flying knights of male ants and worker ants got out of the cabin, climbed on their respective mounts, untied the ropes and took off. They gathered together and flew to the shore, preparing to reach a shelter such as a tree hole or a rock cave before the storm came. The flying knights are familiar with the surrounding terrain and know several alternative locations. When the storm passes, the flying knights will set off again to find the fleet and then continue their work.
After everything was arranged, the sailors got back into the cabin one after another, blocked the hatch with door panels, and quietly waited for the storm to come.
The protagonist's boat was at the end and center of the fleet, and he got in and stayed in the crowded, dark cabin.
In order to carry more people and cargo, the fleet was packed inside. On average, each walnut ship was packed with more than a hundred ants or corresponding cargo. Even the protagonist's boat is only slightly looser. Fifty guardsmen are crowded together, surrounded by some food, pottery, mysterious balls and other goods.
The interior of the walnut boat is divided into two halves by natural diaphragms, and the inside of each half is roughly divided into several parts.
The protagonist had previously chosen a place that was just big enough for him to lie down as his living room. This treatment was much better than that of other ants. Other ants, even male ants, could only squeeze in with everyone.
The other ants in the boat are all in the other half, and the protagonist is only with various food and supplies. This is specifically requested by the protagonist, who likes to be alone.
The protagonist, who was in darkness before his eyes, could only feel the boat beneath him swaying with the rhythm of the water waves, and the sound of the crashing waves was like a lullaby, making him fall asleep quickly.
I don’t know how long it took, maybe it was only a short while, but the protagonist was woken up by the shaking.
Just like the sudden weightlessness in a dream, the protagonist wakes up with a start. But this feeling is not an illusion in a dream, but the entire walnut ship is really like an out-of-control elevator suddenly falling, and the strong sense of weightlessness and discomfort grips the protagonist's heart.
The protagonist knows that the storm has arrived. Although he cannot see it, the entire fleet is already struggling in the stormy waves.
