The ant colony country deep underground is busy but quiet. All acidophilic ants cannot speak. As a whole, except for the queen who can use telepathy to transmit information, the other ants rely on collisions with each other's tentacles.
communicate.
The environment of the entire ant country is so complicated. The corpse pit for disposing of dead ants is located in the deepest part of the cave. Zhou Qingfeng was there dozens or hundreds of meters underground, looking up at the jagged passages and buildings above his head.
Glowing moss and underground flora are everywhere, and they are responsible for providing air conversion for the ants. The underground river springs are abundant, ensuring that all ants will not die of thirst. Food, air, water, and ecological cycles form a perfect balance.
But now this balance has been broken by a plague.
The queen ant entered the heavily guarded spawning room, but telepathically connected the entire nest. Zhou Qingfeng was following a few worker ants to the incubation room, because there was an unprecedented big trouble there.
In the past, acidophilic ants suffered from 'rot disease', but they relied on continuous reproduction to fight the spread of the plague. But now this curse-like disease appears on unhatched ant eggs, and it suddenly affects the entire ant colony.
The death knell sounded.
After seeing Justen and Mondino's so-called plague research, Zhou Qingfeng was greatly disappointed with them. The priest would only ask the gods, and if the gods did not reply, they would be helpless.
The methods of the necromancers were not very clever. They asked how the soul got sick. If the ant could answer, would the queen be extremely desperate?
As for the rest...
The 'Quick Shadow' who was wandering around said that he saw another group of strangers coming to the ant nest. However, the Queen Ant refused to disclose the information of those people and only asked Zhou Qingfeng to quickly find a way to quell the plague, otherwise everyone would be doomed.
.
"It's really distressing. I'm not a veterinarian." Zhou Qingfeng thought wildly, "No, vets don't take care of ants when they get sick. God knows what this plague is about? Viruses? Bacteria? Parasites? Who is the source of infection? What is the route of transmission?
?”
Just look at the history of world civilization and you will know how terrible infectious diseases are. Countless civilizations and races have fallen apart because of the invisible curse. Human beings have developed a deep fear of plagues while suffering from diseases.
When we arrived at the incubation room, it was a large cave. Densely packed ant eggs were piled on the ground inside the cave, which looked a bit like alien-shaped eggs. A large number of worker ants were responsible for taking care of these unborn ant babies, constantly coming in and out.
Under the illumination of luminous moss, healthy ant eggs have a milky white sheen, while infected ones appear as dark spots.
"Is this the only incubation room?" Zhou Qingfeng asked.
The queen's telepathy goes directly into her brain, "There are twelve hatching chambers."
“Are all hatcheries infected?”
"Yes."
"Do the worker ants who are responsible for caring for the eggs also show signs of infection?"
"have."
"Damn it. Don't you know that infected and uninfected people should be quarantined?"
"It doesn't work. We have tried this trick before. But infected ant eggs keep appearing, and even more. Even if the newly laid ant eggs are completely sealed, black spots of decay will appear after a while.
"
Zhou Qingfeng was instantly stuck... His understanding of infectious diseases was not only scary, but also that infected people must be isolated. But if isolation is useless, what should we do?
"Can you tell me the number of cases of 'rotten disease' in recent years, the susceptible groups, and the places where it occurs? I want to do a data analysis." Zhou Qingfeng made a new request. He hopes to know more about this invisible curse.
information.
However......
The messy footsteps appearing from behind interrupted the communication between Zhou Qingfeng and the ant queen. He turned around and saw several humans dressed in different clothes but all arrogant appearing in front of him.
The leader was a man with a long and thin face, curly hair and deep eyes, wearing a cloak, and his steps were sonorous. He smiled slightly as he walked up, looking at Zhou Qingfeng with a playful look. The followers behind him were quite tall, and their eyes were filled with the aura of fake power.
"Are you Victor Hugo?" "Slender Face", who is taller than Zhou Qingfeng, raised his chin and asked, "I have heard of you and your village."
Zhou Qingfeng frowned and asked the queen: "Who is this person?"
"I don't know, and I don't care." The Queen Ant said, "I am now sure that our tribe alone cannot solve the problem of the plague. Anyway, I got you into the ant nest, so it doesn't matter if I get a few more.
These people seem to have come after you. I sent out my people to surround them. After explaining the situation, they also entered my lair obediently like you. From now on, no matter who comes close to our lair, they will be punished.
Catch him in."
It sounds like they are adventurers who are in "common trouble". Everyone is in trouble and is going to die, so we should help each other. But where does the arrogance of these people come from?
The Queen Ant interjected, "This group of people seems to know you, and asked me specifically if I also captured a group led by a young man?"
Zhou Qingfeng was even more surprised that the person opposite him took the initiative to reveal his identity.
An attendant stood on the side and said loudly: "Your Excellency Hugo, in front of you is Colonfield, the lord of Cold Wind City. The son of Long Legs, the direct descendant of Northland hero 'Long Legs' Liwen, Marbury with noble bloodline
.Your Excellency Long Legs.”
Zhou Qingfeng frowned even more and said lightly: "I've never heard of it. Why do you have long legs? How come you have such a weird surname? Do your people have very long legs?"
'Slender Face''s face changed, and several followers behind him looked even more angry. The ant queen's voice came into his mind again, "I advise you to calm down. There is no hierarchy here. Who can solve the problems of our tribe?"
The question is, who will survive."
Zhou Qingfeng pressed the hilt of his sword. If the opponent dared to move, he would definitely attack with amplified attacks. However, the ant colonies near the incubation room gradually gathered, forming a real deterrent. Neither side dared to make the first move, and in the end they could only stare and give up.
'Slender Face' also led people into the incubation room of the ant nest. Behind him stood a guy dressed as a wizard, holding up an infected ant egg and observing it repeatedly. He himself shouted loudly: "My noble ancestor left behind
The curse of the ant colony is mentioned in the notes below.
Fortunately, I remember the content. My ancestor once proposed an idea to solve the problem. He wrote on the corner of the page, 'I thought of a wonderful idea, but it's a pity that the page here is too small to write it down.'"
After saying that, the 'slender face' looked at Zhou Qingfeng proudly. At this moment, he seemed to be possessed by light, holding the pearl of wisdom, and already in control of everything. He maintained this posture for a long time.
Uncle Zhou was really frightened for a while, but after waiting for a long time, he couldn't wait for the next step, so he had to take the initiative to ask: "Then..., what's a brilliant idea?"
The 'slender face' still raised his head, as if this question did not need an answer at all, "I said 'can't write', but 'can't write'."
"I asked you if you have any ideas to solve the problem?"
“My ancestors said ‘I can’t write anything’.”
"What the hell is this idea? So you don't know either."
"This shows the nobility of our family lineage."
"Your brain malformation is on your thigh, so that's why your last name is 'Long Legs'?"
"This is an insult to our family's reputation. I want to fight you."
Both sides were not in a good temper, and they were about to fight again. The ants had to forcefully separate the two.
But the wizard who was holding the ant eggs for research came back with a smile and said: "Sir Marbury, I think I have found a solution. My alchemy can be used to prepare some unique potions, and this curse can be broken."
The 'Slender Face' was overjoyed and glared at Zhou Qingfeng fiercely again. The queen ant's attitude towards them suddenly became warmer, asking them to solve the problem as soon as possible and making a heavy promise that she would do everything in her power to meet any request of the solver.
Seeing these inexplicable guys leaving arrogantly, Zhou Qingfeng became angry and felt a lot of pressure to survive. He asked Cyric: "Didn't you say that this curse has no solution? Why do Mao and the others see it?"
After a few glances, he said there was a solution."