The pavement ant in front of me soon had a lot of hyphae growing out of it, and its body looked like mold. This is clearly a pavement ant that has been infected by parasitic bacteria!
After the parasitic organisms invaded the territory of civilized ant tribes such as black fire ants and leafcutter ants in the autumn and winter of the previous year, they quickly evacuated after the beginning of spring, as if they had never appeared, leaving almost no trace, just like ants We collectively made a dream about blood and fire.
But who would have imagined that a year later, on this cold winter day, such a parasitic pavement ant suddenly came to the core hinterland of the Ant Alliance, and consciously hid its identity, sneaked into Zhu Jue's palace, and met with the ant The supreme leader of the Federation comes face to face!
Zhu Jue was not surprised at all. He had been waiting for this messenger for a long time. He thought he would have to wait until spring, but he didn't expect that the messenger would arrive early.
When the parasitic pavement ants revealed their identities, there was a force in Zhu Jue's body that was ready to respond, like seeds that had been soaked with rain in spring and wanted to break out of the ground. However, Zhu Jue easily suppressed this emerging power - he himself was far more powerful than the dormant power in his body.
Seeing myself showing mycelium, the ants opposite me were indifferent. Instead, they exuded a powerful and dangerous aura, which made me tremble with fear. This parasitic pavement ant finally realized its mission and did not dare to provoke easily. So the parasitic pavement ant slowly moved forward, crawled on the ground, lowered its six limbs, and stretched out its tentacles.
Zhu Jue had no doubt that he was there and approached him, their tentacles intersecting. As he approached, the hyphae on the parasitic pavement ant's body trembled uncontrollably, or crawled back into the host's body, or lowered their caps, as if they were facing some kind of existence that would defeat them!
No third ant knew the content of the exchange between Zhu Jue and the parasitic pavement ant. The parasitic pavement ant came after a long journey, only communicated for a few minutes, and then left. When it left, it returned to an ordinary ant. What a pavement ant looks like.
Zhu Jue ordered the imperial guards to send the messenger from the parasitic creature out of the door of the lair. After the parasitic pavement ant walked alone in the wild for a while, from a hidden soil hole on the side, I heard the signal of it tapping the soil layer. Hundreds of parasitic pavement ants came out one after another, walking in the late winter. The remaining blood, facing the sunset, escorted the messenger slowly away to the southwest.
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Apart from a surprise visit from parasitic pavement ants, this winter seems uneventful.
In the natural world outside the nest, heavy snow fell, covering the earth, and then gradually melted in the sunshine. The dry branches look like dead coral, but there is life hidden inside. The desolate world will no longer be what it used to be, but will eventually return to prosperity.
The sun rises and sets, winter passes and spring comes. In the blink of an eye, it is the end of February of the 13th year of the New Calendar. Spring is getting closer and closer, so close that every ant can feel the coming breath of spring in its tentacles.
The first southerly wind arrives all the way from the far equator, seeming to blow away the snow, green the earth, and awaken life. However, the cold god of winter quickly suppressed this warm atmosphere, but the suppression force became weaker and weaker, and became more and more powerless.
Under the deep soil, around the ants' underground nests, they were the first to feel the resurgence of the earth's atmosphere. The dry soil became moist. This was due to the melting snow seeping into it and mixing into the soil, exuding a fishy freshness. The smell is the signal that ants know that spring is coming.
Finally, tender green grass buds burst out of the ground, and subtle flower buds bloomed on the branches. Life has finally survived the harsh winter, and spring is inevitably coming!
Here, when the first flower buds appear, swarms of pavement ants have already arrived in the wild, picking up the scattered shells of their nests that were damaged by wind and snow.
They mixed last year's dead grass stems with soil moistened by this year's rain, plus excrement and ant glue to make ant concrete and apply it to the damaged areas. He then used his jaws equipped with a jaw knife to cut off stubborn grass roots, move away gravel, cut through the mud, and clear the necessary open space around the nest.
When the young and delicate grass blades have grown to one or two decimeters in height, it will be early March. Even ants that are afraid of the cold, such as big-headed ants, can leave their nests when the sun is shining.
Breathing the fresh air of spring, Zhu Jue, who had not left home for several months, came to the vast space between heaven and earth. The pores in his abdomen rose and fell, and he took a deep breath - this is something that other ants cannot do. Movement, they can only passively rely on the flow of air to breathe.
Zhu Jue looked up to the southwest. That was the agreed direction... This year, the civilized ant coalition will be supported by a powerful force. Even if this force is full of uncontrollable factors, even the power of assistance itself is a destructive force. . But there is no doubt that the Destroyer is the more dangerous opponent and the common goal of the civilized ant tribe and that force!
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The time after the beginning of spring is busy. The long-distance air routes across civilized ant kingdoms have not yet been restored. Each ant nest has to regenerate itself in the spring and "resurrection". Only the nests that are close to each other have limited space. ground transportation.
The vast and powerful ant clan, in this specific season, is also divided into small forces one by one in winter, and it will take another half a month to reunite. This is the most vulnerable period for many powerful ant kingdoms. The history of ant civilizations is full of records of powerful empires being invaded by small tribes at the beginning of spring.
Many ant tribes with loose systems will also usher in their own division after experiencing winter. Some ant colonies in some remote areas will choose to migrate in the spring due to various factors, cutting off contact with the original clan master. Although the relationship is not necessarily hostile when they meet again, they are no longer an inseparable whole. .
Some ant nests will choose to become independent on the spot, or even launch a war against the original main nest. One winter is too long, enough to create a gap between different nests, and also long enough for the ambitious ant to take control of power that should not belong to him.
The first news from afar that Zhu Jue received after the beginning of spring actually came not from the two battlefields in the north, but from the southern border.
The "Jianiu II" who had been wanted all winter finally got news. He appeared in the southern border. The nearby lair was suspicious because he sent a messenger to this place but never received a reply. After sending another messenger in the spring, he encountered pursuit.
Through the escaped messenger and the lucky captured pursuers, the nobles of this lair discovered that they had orders issued by "Jianiu II" in their minds. Only then did they confirm that the wanted criminal was hiding here and had taken control of this lair!
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