Aphid

The Mother Nest has received a massive influx of high-quality protein during this period, allowing it to operate at full capacity. Every day, without compromising its own integrity, it keeps its task list completely packed.

Aside from a small number of eggs used to replace fallen Soldier Ants, every single egg produced is that of a Worker Ant.

This war, which saw a combined force of over ten thousand combatants from both sides, has given Rowan a clear vision of the insect nest's unit composition for the foreseeable future.

Under his command—which far surpasses the level of any ordinary ant—the battlefield is largely confined to narrow areas, such as underground tunnels or the entrances to ant mounds.

This means that the actual number of troops in contact at any given moment is quite small. Aside from the higher number of Soldier Ants required to maintain the encirclement at the mound entrances, other locations do not require many.

These are machines that consume food and do nothing but fight. If too many are hatched during wartime and a surplus remains once the war ends, they would have to be recycled to minimize food waste.

Therefore, since a few hundred are sufficient to handle the current situation, Rowan will not rashly hatch more Soldier Ants.

Compared to Soldier Ants, the utility of Worker Ants is far more comprehensive and diverse.

First, during wartime, they serve as auxiliary support, protecting the limbs and backs of the Soldier Ants.

Once contact is made, they can bite and pull at enemy units, pinning them down while waiting for the Soldier Ants to arrive and execute them.

When facing large-scale enemy forces, they can also spray formic acid to blind the opposition.

After the battle, they act as a Transport Team, clearing the battlefield and collecting spoils.

In peacetime, they tend to the larvae and clean the insect nest.

Furthermore, there is the Green Bug farm about to be taken over; raising the bugs and collecting their droppings requires a massive number of Worker Ants.

Thus, for the current insect nest, the more Worker Ants, the better.

Months later, a river surges down a cliffside like a silver galaxy, its spray churning with majestic momentum, kicking up boiling mist that reflects a dazzling, crystalline luster.

A lake has formed beneath the waterfall, its surface shimmering and rippling under the gentle breeze. Viewed from above, the otherwise perfect circular lake has a slight flaw: a gap in the rim forms a small stream that winds away into the distance.

The banks of the lake and the stream are lush and full of vitality.

At this moment, a few hundred meters from the lake shore stands a towering tree, dozens of meters high, its massive canopy blotting out the sky.

On its dark brown trunk, a Black Beetle the size of a plate is perched, looking like a stuck-on medicinal plaster, disrupting the overall harmony and beauty of the scene.

This is Rowan, overlooking his territory.

Over this period, the insect nest has successively conquered seven surrounding ant mounds, expanding its sphere of influence to a radius of over three hundred meters. While it may not seem large, for ants that are generally smaller than a fingernail, this is a vast territory.

Previously, this land supported seven ant mounds, each with a population of over five thousand.

With the insect nest taking over such a large area and receiving continuous blood transfusions from twenty other ant mounds, the population has more than doubled, surging to over twenty thousand.

Among them, the number of Soldier Ants has just exceeded one thousand, along with several hundred specialized units, such as Spy Bugs and Big-Eyed Scout Bugs. Everything else is Worker Ants, with a ratio of three to seven between those with Digging Legs and those without.

Rowan has discovered that insects with added genetic fragments, which grow special organs and tissues, not only cost slightly more to hatch but also have slightly higher daily maintenance costs.

While the increase per individual is negligible, if the numbers grow, these extra costs will become quite significant over time.

Therefore, based on his calculations, Rowan chose the three-to-seven ratio.

Worker Ants with Digging Legs are primarily responsible for maintaining underground tunnels and transporting food from other ant mounds.

As for the Worker Ants without Digging Legs, they are responsible for the insect nest's new industry: raising small, translucent green bugs. Rowan gave them a commemorative name: Aphids.

Seventy percent of the nest's Worker Ants—over fifteen thousand of them—lack Digging Legs, making their bodies lighter and perfectly suited for climbing trees.

Every day, these Worker Ants scurry across the various vegetation in the territory. The once-sparse Aphid family has received vigorous support.

Originally, these translucent green bugs had very poor mobility; once born, they would basically never move unless the leaf beneath them was completely consumed.

But under Rowan's guidance, the Worker Ants use their mandibles to pick up these bugs, helping them migrate to new vegetation and helping them spread their branches and leaves.

After these bugs suck on the branches and leaves, the Worker Ants approach and massage them, helping them excrete translucent water droplets.

The Worker Ants consume these droplets; aside from eating some themselves, they can also regurgitate them to feed their companions.

Once the companions are full, they spit out the excess droplets in a designated area to dry.

After a period of drying, the water in the droplets evaporates, leaving behind pale yellow crystals. They taste sweet and delicious, are a rare treat, and are very easy to store.

However, knowing the production process, Rowan will not eat these things, and don't ask him how he knows what they taste like.

Yet, Aphids are pests to vegetation. As their family gradually flourished, the leaves of the vegetation in the territory began to suffer.

Moreover, these Aphids reproduce quite rapidly. With the help of the Worker Ants, their numbers grew exponentially.

Many plants had their branches and leaves eaten clean, and unable to perform sufficient photosynthesis, they gradually withered.

Rowan discovered this change in time; he knew that if things continued this way, the vegetation in the territory would soon be eaten bare.

His previous approach had been a bit like draining the pond to catch the fish.

However, thanks to his human background, he naturally possessed a unique talent for cultivation, and he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

He had previously discovered that ants also excrete waste, but Worker Ants would clean the waste out of the nest every day and pile it up in a specific spot.

Plants growing near these piles always seemed to grow more vigorously.

Rowan understood that this was likely fertilization—and biological fertilizer at that.

Unfortunately, ant excrement is too scarce; even the daily output of tens of thousands of ants is not enough to fertilize many plants.

Rowan pondered for a long time, guessing that the lack of waste was because the ants' current diet consisted mostly of the water droplets excreted by the Aphids. It's no wonder they produce so little when they only eat that.

So, would eating more solid food increase the production of biological fertilizer?

They say the minds of the mentally ill are broad; when thinking of solid food, Rowan immediately recalled the only time he had a "big" experience after turning into an insect.

Isn't there solid food everywhere just waiting to be used?