He carefully captured the selected target, and a group of Poisonous Sting Dragonflies, each holding four large aphids, quickly flew towards the cave, as if they were elders just collecting the year’s goods.
In less than three minutes, these dragonflies, each holding a large aphid, charged into the cave through a ventilation opening at the top. They spiraled in a beautiful curve and landed steadily in front of the ant queen.
The waiting worker spider ants immediately stepped forward to receive the large aphids from the dragonflies, expertly twisting their heads and legs off before sending the fleshy, nutrient-rich bodies and abdomens directly to the ant queen’s mouth.
Watching the ant queen happily devouring the aphids, William slowly extended his spiritual sense into her body for an inspection, a routine task he needed to do every so often. As he gazed at the queen’s large abdomen, marked with black stripes, his thoughts began to drift.
The queen had now grown over two meters long, with her chest and head unchanged. It was mainly her abdomen that had grown larger and longer, now no longer red but red with dark black stripes. This was the result of William incorporating the genes of a small black ant species into the queen’s genome. The queen of this small ant species could lay over ten thousand eggs daily when mature, a prospect that made William very envious when he first observed it.
After analyzing the genes of this ant species, William integrated a reproductive optimization system from the black ant species into the queen’s body. Immediately, the queen stopped laying eggs and ceased eating or drinking, undergoing a slow metamorphosis over a month.
During this time, he feared the worst—what if the queen didn’t survive the metamorphosis? But fortunately, the queen survived the transformation, and her egg-laying capacity increased to two thousand eggs daily, which was a great relief to William.
However, just a few days later, a new problem arose. Less than half of the eggs laid by the queen successfully hatched into larvae, and her body began to weaken again. Although not in mortal danger, seeing the queen on the brink of death still made William nervous. Over the next two months, he reviewed the black ant species’ genes repeatedly, making numerous observations and comparisons. Eventually, he identified the cause—the black ants primarily fed on large aphids, and they particularly favored those living on a specific succulent plant.
After observing this, William immediately changed the queen’s diet, adding the sap of this succulent plant to her rations. Sure enough, the queen’s condition began to improve, and the egg hatch rate returned to normal. The sap of the succulent contained a special nutrient that provided the queen with the vital sustenance she needed for reproduction.
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After this lesson, William vowed never to alter the queen’s genes again. Had the queen died because of his genetic modifications, he would surely become a cautionary tale in future textbooks, a prime example of a scientist’s folly.
He imagined himself as a figure immortalized in history: "This is the first human to cause the extinction of their core followers due to their own recklessness. Let this be a lesson to you all!"
Shuddering at the thought of this, William snapped back to the present and carefully observed the queen’s condition.
“Not bad, not bad. Stay healthy and remember to rest well. Keep up the good work,” William sent her a mental message, along with an encouraging emotion.
The queen, who was happily munching on aphids, immediately shook her antennae more vigorously in response to the message.
After checking on the queen, William inspected several breeding and planting areas, including the succulent plant cultivation area five kilometers away.
This area spanned one square kilometer, with only succulent plants—what William had named "meat trees"—planted in this area. Every ten meters, a new tree was planted, ensuring they could fully absorb sunlight. Beneath the ground, a special type of worm-like insect unit, growing up to half a meter long, was also present. These creatures didn’t have any combat capabilities but played a vital role in loosening the soil and consuming harmful organisms near the roots.
The number of large aphids in this area was strictly controlled to ensure they didn’t damage the succulent plants. All the waste produced by the insect units nearby was collected and deposited here to enhance the soil’s fertility.
The large aphids bred here were one of the queen’s primary food sources. In addition to this cultivation area, William had built three other aphid farms in different directions.
After inspecting the succulent plant farm, William moved on to other aphid breeding grounds. The layouts of these farms were similar to one another, though some were larger and featured different plants. The plants in these farms were another type of large tree that William had carefully selected, which he called the “large-leaf tree.” These trees could easily grow to a height of twenty-five meters, with dense branches, broad leaves, and abundant sap. They were perfect for breeding aphids, a discovery William made in the divine realm.
After inspecting these farms, William moved on to another cultivation zone where a species of trees about seventeen or eighteen meters tall grew. At first glance, these trees seemed no different from ordinary ones. However, the unique trait of these trees was that if a small incision was made on their bark, a large amount of sugar-rich sap would flow out. Their leaves and fruits also contained similar qualities. William named this tree the “sweet sap tree,” and it had become a primary food source for his insect colony.
Now, after several rounds of genetic adjustments and optimization, his insect species had a highly strengthened digestive system, making them omnivores. Even in extreme conditions, they could survive on dirt, extracting nutrients from the soil, though this would significantly slow their growth and was only used as a last resort.
After inspecting the various breeding farms and planting zones, William raised his hand and swiped across a screen to record his findings.
“All experimental plantations and breeding farms are developing well. After observing for a while longer, if there are no issues, we can begin to scale up production.” After completing his notes, William closed the light screen.