In late November, there was a brief cold wave intermission, and the temperature outside recovered slightly, but the surviving creatures were still dormant, waiting for the return of real warmth.
Early that morning, Zhu Jue rarely allowed the imperial guards to receive a large amount of dry food and some supplies and deliver them to the palace. Before that, he had been shut up for a full week, and even when a transport team of pavement ants arrived, he didn't even come out to take a look.
The captain of the Imperial Guard "Tianxian" never questioned any of Zhu Jue's orders. She just took the food back and brought it in, then left the palace according to Zhu Jue's order, leaving Zhu Jue alone inside.
The guards guarding the door occasionally heard rustling noises coming from inside the palace. They seemed to be eating or moving, but they didn't seem to be.
When the "Celestial Immortal" saw Zhu Jue again, he was walking out of the entrance to the palace.
Zhu Jue was wearing a thick layer of ant felt as a cloak, and he had a simple backpack made of ant silk cloth on his back. It was bulging and he didn't know what it contained.
Zhu Jue, who was dressed strangely, walked towards the upper part of the lair. The "Tianxian" immediately followed with the guards, but Zhu Jue asked them to stay where they were. Therefore, the imperial guards who obeyed the words of the divine envoy king stopped following the guards for the time being.
Zhu Jue walked through narrow and wide passages and walked all the way to the top of the nest. The route he took was rugged and tortuous as the main passage was closed.
Along the way, there are ants huddled lazily in every nest. They have nothing to do in winter, and the ants have also reduced their activities. However, this is different from active hibernation or passive dormancy, but they still maintain firepower and vigilance. .
As soon as these ants touch the Divine Messenger King or smell his breath, they will salute him in the dark. Zhu Jue didn't return the gift, and even if he did, the other party couldn't see him in the darkness.
Zhu Jue just walked through the nest chambers one after another and slowly came to the top of the nest. The temperature here is already a little low, with the room temperature only about ten degrees. A large amount of grain is stored in the granary here, and the low temperature is used to inhibit spoilage.
Zhu Jue didn't even look at the food piled in several granaries and continued walking through the passage. The road here is already relatively dry, and the wet mud on Zhu Jue's feet is slowly being rubbed off.
As he got closer and closer to the ground, the cold wind began to pour into the nest from the entrances and passages. The wind became stronger and stronger, blowing on his head - freezing!
Zhu Jue wrapped his cloak tightly around him. Fortunately, he was the least afraid of the cold among ants and had a cloak to protect him from the wind. The cold wind was still bearable.
At a corner, there was a small nest room in a fork in the road. A guard ant, which was frozen and dull, noticed the ground shaking. She dutifully poked her head out, touched Zhu Jue with her tentacles, and sniffed. After smelling the smell and confirming that there was nothing unusual, he quickly retreated.
A few rotating ants keep watch here, sounding the alarm when there is a threatening intrusion, but intrusions are extremely rare this winter. These gatekeepers do more than announce the arrival of pavement ant messengers or transport teams.
This is not a good job, the cold temperatures make the janitor ants very uncomfortable. Although the guard room is located close to the flue, the temperature is still not as good as deep in the nest, so the guard ants must be rotated every few hours, otherwise they will freeze.
Without the last obstacle, Zhu Jue quickly arrived at the entrance where the cold wind was howling. After the entrance to the main passage turned into a chimney, this newly opened entrance was the only gate to the camp.
He got out, the sun shone on him, and the airflow in the entrance and exit became very gentle in the outside world, not as rapid as inside the nest. Zhu Jue suddenly felt warm.
Today is a good day. The continuous cold wave makes the sky cloudless. The sun can shine on the earth without hindrance, and it also shines on Zhu Jue, bringing precious heat.
There are still remnants of the last snowfall on the ground, and there are still unmelted snow in some shady corners, but in most places the ground is bare, and there is no trace of the thick layer of white snow that once covered it.
During the last cold wave, a heavy snowfall fell, covering the earth with a thick layer of "white quilt". In previous winters, when the weather was suitable, Zhu Jue would occasionally come out to breathe, enjoy the snow scenery, and even do a little exercise.
But this year, this is the first time he has stepped out of the nest, and this time, he has no plans to go back!
If you look carefully at Zhu Jue's compound eyes, you will find that the original brilliance inside them has become chaotic. His consciousness seems to be between half-dream and half-awake, but his actions are still very clear-headed, decisive and resolute. Only the eyes can tell that Zhu Jue is strange at this time. There is no light source underground, and even the "celestial being" who is most familiar with Zhu Jue is not aware of Zhu Jue's abnormality.
Zhu Jue left the nest entrance, followed a dry and light route, avoiding shadows and snow, and headed north in a roughly straight line. He was going on a long trip, and no ants in the camp knew what he was thinking. place.
Not long after, the overwintering camp slowly disappeared behind us and was completely obscured.
Zhu Jue just walked and walked, bypassing the dense withered hay, passing under the big trees with only dead branches left, stepping over the piles of fallen leaves piled together by the north wind, heading north all the way, alone.
Between the heaven and the earth, except for the wind, the wind, the grass, and the wind and the sand, it seems that the only living thing that can move is Zhu Jue. He was as lonely as the last ant in the world, trudging alone in the desolation of all things.
I don’t know how far I walked, but soon the sun was in the center and it was noon.
Although Zhu Jue's eyes were confused, his actions were still orderly and he knew how to seek advantages, avoid disadvantages and provide timely supplies. He found a place with north wind and sunshine, and unpacked the backpack on his back. It was full of dry food and some necessary supplies. He must have carefully prepared for this trip in advance.
Zhu Jue ate some dry food, brought some snow, melted it in the sun, and drank it. Feeling that his hunger and thirst were gone and his physical strength was restored, he repacked his luggage and moved on.
No one knew where Zhu Jue was going, and no one knew whether Zhu Jue himself knew it. He just headed north resolutely until the sun went down, and when the temperature was about to drop sharply, Zhu Jue found a shelter.
This was a deep tree hole made by long beetle larvae. Zhu Jue used his luggage to block the wind at the entrance of the hole. He had dinner inside, wrapped in ant felt, and fell asleep in this residence!
At the same time, in the original camp where Zhu Jue disappeared for a day, the "Tianxian" and the guards dug almost three feet into the ground but found nothing. After asking around, they found that Zhu Jue had gone to the wild and had not returned for a long time.
The "Tianxian" had to order the newly arrived pavement ant transport troops to go out and search before the sun went down, but found nothing.
Zhu Jue is missing! ? This plan immediately caused chaos!
