Spring's returned to the world.
Ink Orchid ate 54 Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds, slept for three days, and successfully evolved into a mid-level warrior in its second age period.
The Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed bloomed earlier than Dragon Cypress had expected.
Many wild cedars grow on the upper mountain slopes, sprouting new buds.
Dragon Cypress knew the time had come and decisively took out the Dried Fragrant Cypress and Large Fruit Hemlock Life Seeds, soaking them in warm water.
The Dried Fragrant Cypress Life Seed was, as always, planted on the hillside near the Ant Nest.
The Large Fruit Hemlock Life Seed was planted on the ridge, about fifty meters away from Ink Orchid's plant.
Bramble branches and stones were still used for fencing, and Soldier Ants and Specialized Worker Ants were dispatched to guard them.
During the spring plowing season, all other Life Seed Plants in the territory needed careful tending.
Dragon Cypress took direct action, loosening the soil and fertilizing them, trimming away weeds.
The first-sown Dragon Cypress, Round Cypress, and Spiked Cypress had all grown just over one meter, the Giant Cypress was nearly fifty centimeters, and the Cypress was only less than ten centimeters tall.
At present, there were not many Life Seed plants to tend, and the scale was very small, so all the work was finished in less than a day.
Dragon Cypress directed a total of seventy Specialized Worker Ants to continue digging the pond.
As spring is rainy, the construction method was slightly adjusted—first digging a drainage ditch of sufficient depth.
Very busy,
Dragon Cypress not only had to control the Dominating Throne for flying, hoisting the earth, but also had to keep an eye on the Worker Ants below.
Worker Ants have no independent consciousness, but do possess a certain intelligence, can remember simple commands, and adapt when facing trouble.
With more worker ants on the job, some clever ones had spontaneously learned to slack off and act lazy, becoming idle and passive in their work.
Dragon Cypress looked just like a ruthless slave master, swooping down from the Throne whenever he caught them, swinging his tentacles to whip and harshly discipline them.
Little effect, as those guys simply don't learn their lesson.
Dragon Cypress had also tried to organize them into squads, every ten ants as a team, appointing a captain to supervise the others.
But the result was even worse; the captain would lead the whole team in slacking off together…
In the Giant-Headed Ants' inherited memory, Worker Ants were absolutely obedient to the Ant King—there was no mention of Worker Ants slacking, and certainly no solution for preventing it.
Dragon Cypress suspected that the problem lay in the Dominating Throne.
Worker Ants produced via the Dominating Throne were not perfect.
How did the Creator Civilization get wiped out by human civilization?
Could Soldier Ants also be imperfect?
Ordinary Giant-Headed Ant Soldier Ants, in battle, would charge forward fearlessly at the Ant King's command, not flinching from death.
But what if the Soldier Ants bred by the Dominating Throne, upon realizing they were losing, abandoned the Ant King and ran away?
That's entirely possible.
This is a deadly problem.
...
On Dragon Cypress's side, things were extremely busy and messy.
Ink Orchid wasn't idle, either.
Dragon Cypress had once told it the exact steps to optimize plant breeding: open up a nursery bed, sow the seeds, weed out the weak seedlings, and keep the strong ones for transplanting. Once they matured, collect the fullest seeds from the strongest, most fruitful plants and keep breeding with those.
With each generation, selective improvement culling would lead to high-quality seed stock over many generations.
The single most important point: high-quality seed stock, combined with a dense Origin Force environment, greatly increases the chance of producing a Divine-Given Seed.
Ink Orchid decided to put theory into practice, determined to cultivate its own superior orchid seed.
Last spring, it had already opened two nursery beds and scattered seeds. Now it was scurrying all over the hillsides seeking places to transplant them.
It had also collected many seeds last autumn, and planned to expand two more nursery beds this year.
...
"Dragon Cypress!"
Ink Orchid, its legs fresh with mud, carried a dirty sheepskin bag as it zipped through the air.
"Ink Orchid..."
Dragon Cypress immediately sensed trouble.
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, how about I plant some orchid grass around your territory to decorate it?"
Dragon Cypress: "Thank you, Ink Orchid, but no need."
Ink Orchid wasn't pleased by that.
"These are all new Ink Orchid shoots I picked carefully… Dragon Cypress, don't you like Ink Orchid?"
You're even playing a pun on me~
Dragon Cypress: "How could I not… I like it very much…"
Ink Orchid: "Then I'll plant them for you!"
Dragon Cypress was helpless and agreed: "Alright… Want me to send a few Worker Ants to help you?"
Ink Orchid happily said: "Great!"
Dragon Cypress picked out the eight Specialized Worker Ants that were always slacking off, gave them a stern warning, issued instructions, and told them to carry the sheepskin bag, follow Ink Orchid, and help dig smartly.
Ink Orchid led the eight freeloaders and started busy work in the woodland on the west side of the Ant Nest.
Not long after, it angrily came running to complain: Dragon Cypress, three Worker Ants aren't moving!
A bit later, it ran over again: Dragon Cypress, this is bad, I can't find one Worker Ant, only seven are left…
...
Time flowed like a tinkling mountain spring, cheerful and unhurried.
After many attempts, Dragon Cypress finally figured out why Worker Ants were slacking: intense, high-pressure work gave rise to resistance in them.
A corresponding adjustment was made.
Each day, they would go out to work when the sun rises, and return to the nest at sunset to rest.
Work three days, rest one day.
In this way, the instances of passive, lazy work greatly decreased, and work efficiency was even higher.
The drainage ditch, 0.4 meters wide and over 20 meters long, directly connected to the adjacent stream, was dug to a depth of one meter.
After a chilly spring rain, under the morning light, dewdrops at the tips of grass blades refracted all the colors of the rainbow.
Dragon Cypress led the ant colony out of the nest, directing clearing work, and had the four-meter-square pond outline dug out first.
Ink Orchid raced over, holding a tiny deep blue flower.
"Dragon Cypress! Look! The flowers have bloomed!"
"Oh!"
Dragon Cypress replied.
After a careful look, it was a primrose.
With the primrose in bloom, all sorts of plants across the mountains would soon blossom too.
Dragon Cypress understood what Ink Orchid meant—the coming of abundant flowers also meant the Flame Spider Caravan would soon arrive.
Ink Orchid had been waiting for the caravan all year.
This year, Melde would come to the Ten Thousand Nations Continent. Dragon Cypress was looking forward to it too.
"Ink Orchid, how many Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds do you have left?"
"One hundred!"
"That's good, then."
Dragon Cypress just worried that Ink Orchid wouldn't be able to resist her craving and would eat the Orchid Seeds set aside for trade.
Ink Orchid circled the Dominating Throne once and landed next to Dragon Cypress.
"Dragon Cypress, I suddenly came up with a brilliant idea, but I have a few questions to consult you about…"
"What idea?"
Dragon Cypress stopped work and asked, "What questions?"
Ink Orchid: "If I sell the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot to the caravan, could I buy it back in the future when I have Source Stones?"
Dragon Cypress: "After all, it's an Outworld Civilization Artifact that can actually be used. It's easy to sell, but buying it back will be tough."
Dragon Cypress immediately understood what Ink Orchid's 'brilliant idea' was and gave a detailed and firm answer, saying:
"It's possible to buy it back—commission the caravan to seek one out for you. However, if your luck is bad, you may have to wait several years before you get it."
"Ink Orchid, are you trying to buy back a coated, flawless Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot? The price from the caravan could be over twenty thousand Source Stones."
"That expensive?!"
Ink Orchid jumped in fright: "Dragon Cypress, didn't you say my Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot could only sell for seven or eight thousand Source Stones?"
Dragon Cypress: "That's right."
Ink Orchid: "Why?"
Dragon Cypress: "Think about it, Ink Orchid. Do those lords and Insect Kings really care about having a bit of ice in the summer or a cup of hot water in the winter? Not really. What they care about is their reputation. Outworld Civilization Artifacts the Insect Clan can't produce, limited in number, are the best status symbols. If your Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot isn't flawless, the status value drops accordingly, so does the price."
Ink Orchid: "Uh..."
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, do another calculation for me—if those seven or eight thousand Source Stones would let us reach High-Level Warrior a few years earlier, how much extra would we gain? Would it be a loss or a profit?"
"That's a rather complex arithmetic problem, one riddled with unpredictables…"
Dragon Cypress looked up at the sky, did a little mental math, and asked: "Ink Orchid, do you want a flawless Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot, or do you care more about how useful it is—like having ice in the heat of summer, hot water in the freezing winter?"
So it is a loss, huh? Ink Orchid immediately understood and asked in disappointment: "Dragon Cypress, is it a big loss?"
Dragon Cypress: "Not really a loss, but you won't make back the price difference for the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot."
As for the pot, it's not that Ink Orchid was tired of it—in fact, it adored the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot. Every evening after a hard day's work, it would come over to Dragon Cypress, make a pot of hot water, and share it.
Dragon Cypress advised, "Ink Orchid, I see how much you love it. Why not just keep it for now? When you have more money, consider swapping for a flawless one then."
"Not a loss?" Instantly revived, Ink Orchid declared, "Then sell it!"
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, you must hurry and advance to mid-level Ant King!"