485. Drive Them All Out!

"We belong to Utopia."

At night, by the campfire, the Singer spoke, explaining to Shana.

"Utopia, I know, it's a large city-state."

The firelight reflected on his face in Shana. He wasn't actually that old, probably around the same age as Lu Ban, but the hardships of life had made him more mature.

"Yes, a large city-state. We practice a democratic parliamentary system. You know democracy? In the Old Era, it was the best political system. Whenever the city-state encountered a problem, we would convene a parliament and everyone would vote."

The Singer reminisced as she spoke, her face beaming with excitement.

Lu Ban thought for a moment and figured he was probably on Frostheart's side, so theoretically he should know about Utopia. So he didn't interrupt and just nodded to the side.

"There aren't many people in our village, and everyone listens to the village chief."

"I'm not really interested in democracy or parliament," Shana said. "In the wilderness, small villages are often destroyed by a sudden sandstorm or a swarm of insects. Most villagers are people who live one day at a time."

"You can also give it a try. The village chief's judgment alone is bound to be flawed. We can only come up with the best solution by discussing it together."

The Singer patiently and skillfully guided the audience.

But in Shana, he simply shook his head.

"Don't say that. Not all city-states follow this system."

Frostheart spoke up.

What other types are there?

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"Well, some city-states are led by the strongest saint, who alone can decide the fate of the entire city. Other city-states are governed by several saints. The city-states that have survived to this day all have their own unique characteristics."

Frostheart explained with a smile that the food cooking over the campfire was also emitting a fragrant aroma.

Lu Ban just wanted to eat.

He got what he wanted and received a bowl.

This food is made by cooking something hard in water until it softens. It's like a soup, but thicker and at least smells like food, though it doesn't look very oily.

Lu Ban picked up the spoon and took a big bite.

It tasted like boiled meat in plain water, without any saltiness or sweetness, and of course, without any fishy smell. This is probably what boiled chicken breast tastes like. To be honest, it wasn't very tasty.

But it's at least better than insect meat.

Lu Ban wasn't picky; eating was the priority, so he quickly finished the food in his bowl.

"This stuff is delicious! Is this all the people in your great city-state eat?"

Shana ate only a little slower than Lu Ban, and after finishing, she wiped her mouth and savored the taste.

"These are all things that are easy to store. They are made by drying insects and then adding flour. Fortunately, we can still grow them where we are. The ones we eat in the city are prepared in a more refined way."

The Singer explained.

"Vomit--"

Lu Ban instinctively wanted to spit it out, but he swallowed the gushing sensation back down his throat.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The Singer patted Lu Ban on the back.

"No, I choked."

Lu Ban lied against his will.

"Eat slowly, it's not like you haven't eaten this before."

The Singer made a joke.

"We also eat insect meat, but we always grill it directly."

He glanced at the campfire for Shana.

Lu Ban then realized that insects and insect swarms were not the same concept.

To be precise, most of the creatures that live in the wilderness are insects.

Some of these insects have soft shells, like giant cabbage caterpillars, while others have shells as hard as steel and wings. There are insects that swim in the desert and insects that fly in the sky.

In short, they are all insects.

The camel-like creatures that Lu Ban and his companions rode were actually a type of insect.

The whole world has mutated in the direction of insects.

Insect swarms are a completely different concept from insects. They are like insects that live in their own ecological niches, living honestly. Humans can form a complete and self-consistent biosphere by relying on these insects and the desert, which can continue to develop.

But the swarm is the destroyer of everything.

They devoured everything in their path, consuming all organic matter and producing endless sand and gravel, transforming this exotic land from a wilderness into the desert it is today.

These swarms of insects are like monsters created by some god with the greatest malice, existing solely to exterminate all living things on earth, ravaging the wilderness.

The people of Utopia wanted to find the weaknesses of these insect swarms.

"We regularly send out a group of scholars, like us, to search for swarms of insects and the nests where these insects are born. According to our research, there must be a nest in the swarm, and the queen in that nest is the culprit. As long as we deal with the queen, we can eliminate the entire swarm."

Late at night, Frostheart and Lu Ban were on watch. She sat by the campfire, the firelight illuminating her profile, giving her an unusual look.

She became very excited and animated when she mentioned the insect swarm, as if she were talking about a nerdy guy in his professional field, recounting everything in great detail.

"But there might be more than one queen, or perhaps these swarms were originally one entity?"

Lu Ban noticed that their research didn't provide as much information as Feng Yu had, so he reminded him.

"More than one? No, impossible. A swarm can only have one queen, but they're one entity. Yes, these swarms act collectively, so there must be some special way of transmitting information. I originally thought it was pheromones or some kind of scent, but they're one entity. This idea is very interesting."

Frostheart quickly fell into thought.

"You really like insects?"

Lu Ban asked.

"No, I hate insects the most. My friends and family have all died because of insects. I hate these creatures the most."

Frostheart clenched her fist.

"That's why I want to study insects and how to completely drive these things out of our world."

"This is truly a long and arduous task."

Lu Ban made a comment.

There are probably quite a few people in the wasteland who share Frostheart's aspirations. These people are like those who believe that the Harmony Island can still be saved and those who are willing to resist the Demon Tide. In this desperate world, they still hold onto hope.

Perhaps what follows will shatter their hopes, turn their remaining prayers into nothingness, and utterly destroy their reason in the most profound way.

But such people still exist.

"We discovered a ruin about 100 kilometers north-northeast of here. This ruin may be the location of the insect swarm's nest. Our goal this time is to investigate the surrounding ecology and, if possible, capture some of the insects that are free to roam outside for further investigation."

Frostheart added.

"Insects that roam freely outside."

If the swarm is truly a single entity, then the insects located at the edge of the swarm are not some detached insects, but rather the tentacles of that enormous creature, its most sensitive sensory organs.

If you come into contact with it, it might attract a huge swarm of insects in no time.

Lu Ban felt it was necessary to persuade them.

*

Please vote for me! Please give me your monthly tickets!