Cheat Ability (Part 1)

Zhou Rui has always had a strong interest in ants, enjoys studying the habits of various ants, and likes to raise and observe them.

Therefore, even though ordinary people wouldn't pay much attention to these creatures, or even find them somewhat distasteful, he would subconsciously glance at them whenever he saw them, and then connect them with the relevant knowledge in his memory.

Just like some car enthusiasts, when they see a particularly special car model, they can make a judgment in their minds. They can guess what brand and model the car is from a wheel rim, a rear window, or a fender. They can tell which engine it is from the roar of the engine, and even the corresponding model, how many cylinders it has, how many horsepower it has, how much maximum torque it has, and its efficiency curve will all pop into their minds.

If the engine sound, exhaust pipe appearance, car details, or rear badge don't match, then it's immediately clear that the car has been modified.

But living things are different from cars; they can't be modified. They are what they are, otherwise it would be a major discovery.

At that moment, Zhou Rui felt like he had made a "major discovery".

The hymenopteran insect perched on the back of the chair was, at first glance, identified by his experience as a reproductive ant of some kind, and based on the size of its abdomen, he preliminarily judged it to be a "princess" (a female reproductive ant during mating season).

Upon closer inspection, based on its color and shape, it was guessed to be Pseudocarpus spp., which is mostly distributed in Sichuan, Guangdong Province, Xiangchu provinces. However, it is not surprising to see it in Haixi Province.

But upon closer inspection, Zhou Rui realized that this hymenopteran insect did not appear to be a colony of a common ant.

Besides its two normal antennae, it also has two very thin, long whiskers on its head. This is really strange!

Moreover, its wings are abnormal, with very obvious and complex veins on them. The wings themselves are also much smaller than those of the common "Princess" ant, and cannot even completely cover its tail, making people wonder if it can actually fly.

Zhou Rui slowly picked up the colony ant and examined it carefully.

Then, to their astonishment, they discovered that beneath those short, wide wings, there were several things resembling long whiskers, pressed tightly against their sides.

What is this? A parasite?

Moreover, the more he looked at it, the more he felt there was a strange sense of disharmony about this colony ant.

He was not only relying on his knowledge of ants to make his judgment, but also thinking of the ants he had glimpsed by chance on the main peak when he was investigating the incident of a "giant bird of prey" attacking tourists at Wushu Mountain.

Just like now, he caught a glimpse of an ant then, which burrowed into the ground.

The ants were the same species as the ants he kept at home, but they were rarer. Unlike the Carpenter ant, which is almost impossible to find in the wild in Haixi Province, he immediately searched for the places where the ants had burrowed, hoping to find the ant nest or other ants from the same colony.

But in the end, he couldn't find the ant he had seen. Instead, he helped Dr. Fang discover the unusual situation that there were no ants at all on the main peak of Wushu Mountain.

"Is this... a breeding ant?" Mi Qiao walked over and stood beside him, looking at the breeding ant in his hand and asking.

Her first thought was of the flying "invisible insect" that had been snatched away by the "giant raptor."

Based on the analysis of the images captured by Dr. Fang and Zhou Rui using infrared thermal imaging equipment, the "invisible insect" was also a hymenoptera insect, and its head was more similar in shape to an ant.

"It's a bit strange, I want to take it back and study it." After Zhou Rui said that, the three of them ended their shopping trip early and went back to the parking lot.

Just then, it started to drizzle again.

Unbeknownst to the three of them, on the second floor of the "Youlong Restaurant" where they had just enjoyed their meal, a bald man stood by the window, watching them through his glasses and the windowpane.

This person was naturally Xiang Kun.

To be honest, he didn't expect that Mi Qiao, Zhou Rui and others would come to "Youlong Restaurant" for dinner today.

He, Lao Xia, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er have been in Tongshi Town for two weeks.

Shortly after their arrival, Zhang Qian and Zi Cheng were also "summoned" to join them. They then discussed the final steps of the game project with You Meng and Liu Caifu. The other "shareholders" who were not present entrusted Zhang Qian or Zi Cheng with their own affairs.

In fact, Tang Baona had already discussed most of the main points on behalf of Xiang Kun and Zhang Qian, and the others basically followed their wishes, offering only some opinions on details.

For others, it's like good friends getting together, doing something together, and participating in it. Essentially, it's about a sense of participation, and it mainly depends on trust in Xiang Kun or Zhang Qian.

The matter was quickly settled. Zhang Qian led a team to Peng City to set up the operations team, start the company, and prepare for the game's launch.

The "Youlong Restaurant" project also went smoothly. After Xiang Kun rearranged all the main dishes and released several videos online to generate buzz, they began to link the online "Youlong Teases Rabbits" with the offline "Youlong Restaurant".

In addition to arranging for people to deliberately "doxx" the store opened by "Youlong Teases Rabbits", they also arranged for several local live streamers and internet celebrities from Haixi Province to visit the store, create buzz, and promote it.

Because the people we invited weren't big names, just some well-known local streamers, the cost wasn't too high.

However, after returning to Tongshi Town, before another blood-drinking session, Xiang Kun Star City four Q-version "Egg Pie" wood carvings based on the emotions of the Little Chubby Girl when she ate the rabbit meat he made, which he had recorded in Xingcheng. He placed them around the shop, alongside the Twelve Yellow Men that had been placed in the shop before.

These wooden carvings look quite different from real "Egg Pie." Not only are they cartoonish, but each wooden cat is also carved with several pairs of wings, and each cat is holding a chicken leg or Ice Cream and eating different foods, making them look very cute.

Besides being adorable, these four wooden carvings, like the Twelve Yellow Men, can also have an emotional impact on the people in the restaurant when stimulated by Xiang Kun.

Therefore, even though the livestreamers and online influencers who visit these restaurants have been notified and are invited, their performances often exceed expectations when they actually taste the food, influenced by their emotions.

These results not only brought excellent live streaming and program effects, but also prompted the streamers and internet celebrities to give their heartfelt recommendations and reviews, further generating buzz and wider reach.

In addition, other local diners who come to eat by chance are also affected by the atmosphere, which brings a good word-of-mouth effect. Therefore, although "Youlong Restaurant" only officially opened a week ago, it soon has to start queuing during mealtimes, and the business is very good.

You Meng and his wife have even started applying to Xiang Kun to open a branch store in their town.

Once the restaurant's customer traffic and reputation stabilized, Xiang Kun no longer needed to use the wooden cat sculpture to influence diners' emotions at every mealtime. After all, the dishes he prepared for the restaurant were already quite delicious and very suitable for local tastes. With a good reputation already established and many people having dining memories of the restaurant, the dining experience wouldn't collapse even without the emotional influence of the wooden sculpture.

After the restaurant opened, Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er also went to Peng City to represent Xiang Kun in further cooperation with Zhang Qian.

During this period, in addition to drinking blood twice under Lao Xia's cover, Xiang Kun also did a lot of research on his own mutation.

The most important thing is to try to find ways to influence other organisms with the abilities of "Mutated Parasite" and the "All-Things Parasitism" model.

Xiang Kun hopes to enhance "Gold Glitter's" self-protection capabilities and influence over the outside world. For example, he wants it to have the ability to influence others by invoking the emotional projections of "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" and other "Emotion-Infused Object" when "Little Apple" gives the instruction, without needing "Little Apple"Little Apple to be present.

However, if he were to conduct an experiment, he certainly couldn't do it directly on "Gold Glitter." From the moment it was named, its significance to Xiang Kun had already changed; it was an existence that no other canary in the world could replace.

Therefore, Xiang Kun needs to conduct experiments on other organisms first, understand the pattern, ensure the success rate, know the side effects, and find ways to avoid them before using "Gold Glitter".

At first, Xiang Kun used laboratory mice that Lao Xia bought to experiment, but he couldn't find a way to influence them.

So he began trying to link the mice into the "Super-Sensing Item System" like "Gold Glitter" and "Egg Pie," but he still failed.

Lao Xia then suggested that he try other creatures, and he took the advice. The two of them ventured from Lao Xia Chongyun Village into the depths of the northern mountains, wandering around for two whole days and "teasing" almost every animal they found.

In order to better "modify" those animals, the two of them also crammed a lot of relevant biological knowledge, and gained a basic understanding of most of the animal species, characteristics and habits in this mountainous area.

And for each animal they "tease," they would combine theory and practice, and carefully study it.

Unfortunately, Xiang Kun couldn't find a way to "parasitize" most animals through the "Super-Sensing Item System," nor could he establish a link to pull them into the "Super-Sensing Item System."

On his way back, Xiang Kun, who was ready to give up the attempt and reconsider, accidentally managed to influence an ant while in a "Hyper-Sensory State".

Xiang Kun wasn't sure if the ants were special, or if he just happened to find the right method at that time.

The modifications Xiang Kun made to the ant were minor, only making it slightly larger and strengthening the muscles in its head that controlled its jaw. The changes were less than 10%, and it was completed in just a few hours.

Although Xiang Kun successfully modified the ant, it was unable to receive his commands, frantically attacking other ants before dying after wreaking havoc for a while.

From the perspective of an individual experiment, the outcome was naturally a failure. However, from the perspective of the overall experimental objective, it was a successful start.