Astral Ants

Chapter 83
Worker ants don't like to move in winter.

Long Bai took Mo Lan, Juniper, and Juniper on the throne to inspect the terrain in the north of the mountain.

There are two streams near Mo Lan's territory, converging at the foot of the mountain to form a ditch, winding around the valley and heading east.

"We can use stones and clay to build a dam with a length of about 50 meters to block the mouth of the valley over there."

"There is a gap over there, and the soil needs to be dug to fill it."

"If the reservoir is to be built, it should be bigger. In the future, this reservoir can also undertake the task of irrigating the orchards in the north of the mountain during the dry season. Therefore, we also need to dig a diversion canal for irrigation to the west. The clay excavated for the canal is also a material for building dams. "

"Not only do we need to increase the number of specialized chemical ants responsible for excavation, but we also need at least 500 medium-sized and large-sized worker ants to be responsible for handling. At present, the ant nest can only transfer up to 200, and we need to add about 300..."

Lying on the edge of the throne, Long Bai pointed out his tentacles and explained his plan. Finally, he controlled the ruling throne and landed on the gentle slope north of the valley bottom.

"Mo Lan, at the beginning of spring next year, I will first order the worker ants to dig a pond for you here with a side length of about 12 meters and a depth of about 1.5 meters. After you complete the evolution, first sow the seeds bestowed by the Gorgon seed into the pond."

"It is expected that in the next year, the dam will be repaired and the reservoir will be filled with water."

Mo Lan worried: "Is 12 meters too small? What if there is a drought..."

Long Bai pointed to the top of the slope, and said, "Then dig another 6-meter-long and 2-meter-deep reservoir on the top, and reserve more."

"Okay." Mo Lan was a little relieved.

Long Bai switched the communication mode, shook his tentacles, and repeated his plan to Jun Bai beside him.

"Understood~" Junbai didn't understand a little bit, and said:

"Longbai Ant King, add another 100 specialized chemical ants, 300 large and medium-sized worker ants, the food problem will be very serious! Correspondingly, the specialized blue ants need to be increased to 200, so that you and Mo Lan can rest assured travel merchant."

Long Bai: "Cultivate another giant soldier ant to be responsible for excursions and hunting. Go west, follow the barrier of divine power, go south to north, and there will be endless food to hunt. Molan and I have named them. , it’s called a giant cypress.”

Listening to the conversation, Juniper trembled its tentacles and said excitedly: "My lord! I have a suggestion! The giant cypress will guard the territory, and I will lead the soldier ants to fight and hunt!"

"Juniper!"

Long Bai scolded, swiped his tentacles, and slapped Juniper's forehead, thought for a while, but didn't directly deny it, and said: "Let's see when the giant cypress is born."

Long Bai turned to Junbai and said, "Mo Lan and I won't go out this winter. You command the worker ants to dig through the tunnel running through the north and south of the mountain as soon as possible, and establish a branch nest in the north of the mountain."

"Mo Lan, the two of us are not very afraid of the cold. Let's dig the pond here slowly, and dig it through the winter. If we have enough time, we can dig a little bigger."

"Okay!" Mo Lan agreed.

……

If Cypress controls the ruling throne to travel in search of the Force in winter, it cannot produce ant eggs, because the low temperature at night may freeze the ant eggs and larvae to death.

Stay at Xianglan Mountain to manage Ant Country.

The force of food is sufficient, and the giant soldier ant 'Giant Cypress' began to breed.

Now the 5th instar ant king and the ruling throne produce 4 ant eggs every 5 days.

First come 20 specialized blue ants to supplement the logistics reserve capacity.

Then there are specialized chemical ants, which need to be supplemented by 100.

These will take a winter's time.

Then there are medium and large worker ants... the demand is quite high, and it is planned to be gradually completed in the spring, summer and autumn of the next year.

Soldier ants will definitely suffer battle damage when hunting far away, and they need to be replenished midway.

……

Tranquil winter.

Mo Lan and Long Bai went out early and returned late, digging ponds in the north of the mountain.

Clean up the vegetation, dig out the floating soil, put it in a bag made of sheepskin, and transport it away to control the throne.

Weak power and poor efficiency.

Cypress also needs to enter the ant nest frequently to release pheromones to stimulate the differentiation and development of 'Giant Cypress' in the larval stage.

The larvae of the specialized blue ants and soldier ants eat a lot, and they need Longbai and Molan to go into the forest every now and then to hunt large animals and supplement food for the ant nest.

When the flower spikes of Molanming species on the mountain came out, only a contour less than half a meter deep was dug out of the pond with a side length of 12 meters.

Juniper ordered the worker ants to dig a tunnel through the mountains, leading directly to the cave where Mo Lan lived, and opened another ant nest.

Every [-] meters in the tunnel is a small nest. There are soldier ants or worker ants living all year round. If there is an emergency in the south or north of the mountain, the information can be quickly transmitted to the opposite side, and the soldier ants will be mobilized in time to help.

……

Time flies.

The orchids are blooming.

The return of spring.busy season.

This year has been unprecedentedly busy.

Territory order plant loose soil, fertilization.

Sow new seeds.

When the cypress trees are blooming, thin the flowers properly according to the usual practice.

Clean up the reclaimed wasteland, and transplant the well-cultivated Chinese torreya, hemlock, and chestnut seedlings.

Sow silver cypress and juniper seeds to cultivate new seedlings.

The two hills in the south and the north of the mountain are planned to be used for planting cypress trees. The land reclaimed last year needs to be plowed, weeded, and the soil matured.

The Shannan Reservoir, where the blue god-given seed took root, still needs to be sown with rice, and the black lotus seeds and gorgon seeds are sown.

The busiest part is in the north of the mountain. The pond for Molan's Gorgon seed to take root continues to be dug deep, and the pond above it for water storage has to be dug at the same time.

The sloping land here is located above the river ditch and cannot be drained, so it needs to be dug as soon as possible to store water in the rainy spring.

The number of large and medium-sized worker ants responsible for transporting is insufficient, and Long Bai still needs to use the ruling throne to lift it.

Molan is cleaning up the weak plants that have not grown well sown in previous years, and transplanting the newly cultivated bluegrass seedlings.Clear out the nursery and sow the 'hybrid orchids' studied last year.

Specialized soldier ants bred in winter are being born one after another.

Mo Lan was also in charge of hunting for the ant colony, so she was too busy to know where to go.

……

Bright spring noon.

The Shanbei excavation project is in full swing.

Downhill ponds and uphill ponds were dug at the same time, and the cedars and junipers directed the worker ants to work respectively.

A familiar and intense pheromone suddenly came from the distant hillside.

Two giant soldier ants came, surrounded by hundreds of specialized soldier ants.

"My lord, the giant cypress has emerged!"

Juniper rushed to Long Cypress first, and hurriedly explained: "I didn't make trouble! It broke out of the cocoon by itself, then wandered around, and came from the north of the mountain. It was looking for the king..."

You are not calling yourself!
Long cypress swung its tentacles, whipped Juniper twice, turned his head and shook the tentacles, calling for the giant cypress to come forward.

Carefully inspect.

The juniper is currently in the second instar stage, having evolved and grown once.

The giant cypress is slightly smaller than the juniper, with well-developed jaws and slender and powerful six limbs. It is a normal cocoon breaker.

The reason for the new birth is that the carapace is not black enough.

"Your Majesty..."

Under the urging of the juniper, the giant cypress greeted the dragon cypress by shaking its tentacles.

"Giant cypress!" Juniper came forward to greet him.

"Juniper..." The giant cypress retreated timidly behind the juniper, and even shook its tentacles to direct the specialized soldier ants to protect itself.

Long Bai was dumbfounded: What happened to this giant soldier ant?

Introverted and shy?

Or born timid and cowardly?

The giant soldier ants are going to lead the soldier ants to fight, if they are timid and cowardly, they will be in trouble.

Long Bai thought for a while, shook the tentacles, and said: "Juniper, take the giant cypress to familiarize itself with the territory, and then explain some basic knowledge to it."

(End of this chapter)