Chapter 16: Oh Ho?
Jila looked at Su Xiao with confusion, not understanding why he was holding her head, but she wasn't worried he would hurt her. She even began swinging her body back and forth playfully.
"That crystal from earlier, how much do you know about it?"
Su Xiao smiled as he looked at Jila. He felt that the situation might change significantly.
"We call it Life Stone. This is..."
Jila began explaining to Su Xiao the uses and origins of the [Condensed Crystal (Low Purity)], also known as Life Stone.
Regarding Life Stones, Jila only knew part of the story. This was a resource that could only be produced by third-stage or higher hives. In simple terms, it converted the 'bio-energy' stored within a hive from liquid form to solid form. As for the rest, Jila didn't know. Her previous Insect Race Queen had a habit of stockpiling Life Stones.
In truth, Jila had only been born a little over a month ago. Her knowledge was very limited. But just from her preliminary explanation, Su Xiao could roughly deduce the function of Life Stones.
First, Life Stones were the solid form of bio-energy. They could only be produced by third-stage or higher hives, and only an Insect Race Mother could absorb this substance.
In Su Xiao's view, Life Stones were currency—currency between Insect Race Mothers.
Earlier, Su Xiao had noticed one thing: the genetic memories each Insect Race Mother could awaken were limited and varied. How could they obtain the genetic memories of other mothers? By force? Fighting between mothers of the same rank was simply impractical.
Take Jila, for example. Only when her hive devoured another living mother could she gain a portion of that mother's genetic memories—meaning more insect race soldier types or buildings.
Once a mother died, devouring the corpse was meaningless.
To obtain genetic memories, the mother had to voluntarily cultivate a special insect race through 'oviposition tissue.' This insect race had no combat ability, couldn't even move. Its only purpose was to be devoured by another hive, providing genetic memories.
Mothers called this insect race 'Remnant Individuals.' To cultivate a 'Remnant Individual,' the mother had to pay a significant price. No mother was willing to provide 'Remnant Individuals' to other insect races for free.
As intelligent beings, the mothers solved the problem of exchanging or purchasing 'Remnant Individuals.' Life Stones were the key to the transaction.
Occasional trades occurred between mothers, so they all had the habit of stockpiling Life Stones. This substance was also an insurance policy. If a hive was destroyed in an accident, they could take their accumulated Life Stones and flee, rebuilding their forces in a short time.
In a sense, the emergence of Life Stones was inevitable. Currency had epoch-making significance for a race. The insect races weren't just in a competitive relationship; the threat of the Totem Tribes was ever-present.
"So, the higher the rank of the mother, the more Life Stones she stockpiles?"
Su Xiao exchanged a glance with Bubu Wang. Beside him, Baha scratched his head with a wing. He felt that the three fourth-stage Insect Race Queens were about to be in trouble.
"I don't know."
Jila returned to her spacious new home, lying down on the soft hive tissue.
"Baha, go confirm the locations of those three fourth-stage hives."
Su Xiao took out a long-range receiver and placed it around Bubu Wang's neck.
"Oh ho~, I saw... a really huge hive before. At least over a hundred meters tall."
Baha's bird face gradually turned mischievous.
"Where?"
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. If things went smoothly, it would be all about mass-producing troops afterward—frenzied mass production.
"Over there, caw!"
Baha signaled Su Xiao to wait a moment. After a pause, he continued:
"Remember that grassland where we had the initial melee? The place where Apocalypse's miners were attacked by insect races? That's the hive. I only glanced at it back then. That hive was probably about 150 meters tall."
"No wonder Apocalypse Paradise lost over a hundred people in such a short time. Bubu, any problems?"
"Woof (Absolutely no problem)."
"Good. Baha, you wait near the hive to support Bubu Wang. If anything unexpected happens, both of you retreat immediately."
"Understood."
Baha tilted his head, signaling Bubu Wang to get on his back.
One dog and one bird quickly flew away. Su Xiao sat on the back of a Mantis Armor and took out a tablet computer.
...
Gray Mist Swamp.
"Kill them all!"
A roar rang out. Covered in green blood, Yaklo stood in the swamp. As far as the eye could see, there were insect races everywhere. Near Yaklo were several dozen contractors from the Death Paradise faction. They, too, were fighting with bloodshot eyes.
"Explosive Flame!"
...
Sword Tooth Forest. A few sneaky figures were darting between the trees. Their fair faces were smeared with mud. These girls from the Holy Light Paradise faction had furrowed brows.
"Are you sure? The World Core is nearby?"
"Not sure, but as long as there's a one percent chance, we can't miss it."
"Speed it up."
The few girls quickly delved deeper into the rainforest. Behind them, a blood-red python slithered silently.
...
The endless grassland was like a green ocean. Since it had just rained heavily the day before, the grass blades were a lush green, and the air was fresh.
Baha swooped down from the sky. Bubu Wang, wearing goggles, leaped up.
Bubu Wang landed and nodded at Baha. Baha nodded back before flying back to a high altitude, scouting the environment from above for Bubu Wang. It seemed like no communication was happening, but in reality, the adventure team channel was being spammed by these two.
Baha: "South, 1250 meters. If I get any closer, I might be discovered."
Bubu Wang: "Leave it to me."
Baha: "Be careful. If that fourth-stage mother has some weird ability, notify me immediately. I'll charge straight into the hive to support you. After that, life or death depends on luck."
Bubu Wang: "Insect races have very average perception. Have you ever seen a Demon race with over 200 true attributes?"
Baha: "Impressive."
Beini: "Meow meow meow?"
Bubu Wang: "Money-draining cat."
Beini: "Husky."
...
Blending into the environment, Bubu Wang trotted quickly across the grassland. Near the base camp, Su Xiao held a tablet computer, watching the footage relayed back by Bubu Wang.
On the back of Su Xiao's hand was a black mark. This was a spatial coordinate set by Bubu Wang. If Bubu Wang's position was exposed, he would immediately teleport Su Xiao over. Then Su Xiao would unleash all his abilities, attempting to kill the fourth-stage mother.
Of course, if they could successfully steal the Life Stones, there was no need to take such a risk. Killing a fourth-stage queen wasn't easy.
On the grassland, Bubu Wang looked into the distance. There stood a massive hive, overall a dark green color. The exterior was covered in tightly packed carapaces that reflected a metallic sheen in the sunlight.
When he got within 300 meters of the giant hive, Bubu Wang slowed down. There were simply too many insect races around. Conservatively estimated, there were dozens of types. As for the number, it was impossible to count, but a few hundred thousand was certain.
Near the giant hive were over a dozen insect race buildings, each dozens of meters tall and oddly shaped. Among them, five buildings made Bubu Wang's hind legs tremble just by looking at them.
Those were definitely defensive structures. He probably couldn't withstand even a single attack from those five buildings. Even if Su Xiao came, he could only endure a few hits at most.
Bubu Wang gulped. He approached the giant hive at a very slow pace.
It took over ten minutes for Bubu Wang to cover the 300-meter distance. He stood at the entrance of the giant hive. The entrance was seven meters wide and over ten meters tall.
Just as Bubu Wang was about to enter the giant hive, he noticed a large group of insect races he had never seen before blocking the entrance. These insect races were in a dormant state, covered in hair-thin biological tendrils. These tendrils, over ten meters long, drifted aimlessly, completely blocking the entrance.
Bubu Wang ignored the guard insect races. His body became somewhat ethereal, and he directly penetrated the outer wall of the hive.
Once inside the giant hive, Bubu Wang found that its structure was like a biological castle. There were nearly a hundred nests and openings of various sizes.
After searching inside the giant hive for nearly an hour, Bubu Wang finally found the fourth-stage queen. She was an insect race very similar in appearance to a human female, lying asleep in a large pool.
The pool was filled with a transparent liquid. The Insect Race Queen floated in the liquid. At the bottom of the pool, densely packed Life Stones, each the size of a fist, emitted a faint fluorescent green glow.
Bubu Wang stood at the edge of the pool. The soft biological tissue beneath his paws made him even more nervous.
After a few minutes of preparation, Bubu Wang's claw tips dipped into the transparent liquid. His movements were extremely slow, so slow that he didn't even create ripples.
"Who is it."
The Insect Race Queen's eyes opened. They were eyes with a blue sclera and reddish pupils.
Bubu Wang's body tilted, and his entire form submerged into the colorless liquid. Like a stone, he sank at a slow pace.
The Insect Race Queen changed from a lying position to standing upright. Her gaze swept around, puzzled.
Meanwhile, Bubu Wang had reached the bottom of the pool. His dog paw touched a Life Stone. The stone immediately vanished, stored in the adventure team's storage space.
One by one, when Bubu Wang had collected the eleventh Life Stone, the Insect Race Queen sank to the bottom of the pool. As she sank down, Bubu Wang had already surfaced at the pool's edge, climbing out at a very slow pace.
Bubu Wang silently approached the outer wall of the hive, directly penetrated it, and left the hive interior seconds later.
All the insect races around the hive became agitated. The Insect Race Queen's confused emotions were stimulating them.
Bubu Wang retraced his steps. As soon as he left the sea of insects, he bolted, wishing he could attach a pair of jet engines to his rear.
When Bubu Wang had covered two kilometers, Baha swooped down to a low altitude. Bubu Wang leaped onto Baha's back. Then, one dog and one bird vanished like afterimages.
Inside the giant hive, the Insect Race Queen floated out of the transparent liquid, somewhat confused. It felt like something had been there just now.
...
Beside the base camp hive, Su Xiao took a Life Stone from the adventure team's storage space and handed it to Jila.
"Eat it."
Jila took the fist-sized Life Stone. Her small hands could barely grasp it. After trying to open her mouth, her expression was clearly dazed.
"I... I'll save it for next time."
Jila was quite self-aware this time. This Life Stone was too big. She couldn't swallow it.