Chapter 407 - 379: Insect Taming Hall
Red Hare retraced its path, its hooves clopping on the ground.
Many Abdomen Aphid Spiders climbed onto its hooves, but they had no effect on it.
It possessed the Indestructible Body, and its Defense Power was astonishing.
It was tough as nails, impervious to any blade or spear.
Qin Ziwen had secretly tested it; even a sharp iron tool could barely scratch Red Hare. Its Defense Power had already surpassed that of a normal animal.
Returning to the Gated Community, Qin Ziwen went back to his Home.
He walked to the edge of an empty plot of land, took out the Card, and used it.
Building the Insect Taming Hall required a 40x50 area, two thousand square meters. It wasn’t very large—smaller than some warehouses, even.
As the Card was crushed, a brilliant light enveloped the area in front of him, covering the entire plot.
When the light dissipated, a bizarrely shaped building stood in its place.
The building looked like a circular earthen roundhouse.
It was about twenty meters high, with a door on each of its four sides and smooth, windowless earthen walls.
Qin Ziwen walked in through the main entrance. The interior was hollow.
Inside, stairs could be seen spiraling upwards along the inner walls.
In the very center of the building was a deep, funnel-shaped pit.
The bottom of the pit was covered in a thick layer of yellow sand.
[Advanced Building · Level 1 Insect Taming Hall] Level 2 Brood Bed Nurturing, Level 2 Reproduction Acceleration (Special Effect: Mother Insect Society: If a Mother Insect is successfully tamed, its offspring will not actively attack humans living in the Home and will have reduced aggression) (Tamed Mother Insects: 0/1)
"As expected of a special building from an underground cavern," Qin Ziwen mused.
The building’s effect was both strong and weak.
Its uniqueness lay in the taming of Mother Insects.
After successfully constructing the building, Qin Ziwen gained a rough understanding of what constituted a "Mother Insect."
In the natural world, for insectoid creatures that lived in colonies, the core insect was generally called the Mother Insect.
Mother Insects could be strong or weak. As for the strong ones... he didn’t know their upper limit.
But the weak ones were like the queen bees in an ordinary beehive or the Ant Queens in a common ant colony.
So, the usefulness of this building was highly dependent on the map.
If he could find a suitable target, the building’s potential would be high. But if he couldn’t, he would only be able to tame an ordinary Mother Insect. In that case, it would just be a typical special building—perhaps even less functional than some normal ones.
"Xiaowu, Lorne, gather some Fishmen and members of the Hunting Team, and follow me," Qin Ziwen ordered with a wave of his hand.
Then, a large group of people, holding torches, marched in a great procession toward the Underground Forest cavern to the southwest.
In the time Qin Ziwen had been gone, Mogu had somehow managed to make the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle lying nearby completely docile.
The surrounding Abdomen Aphid Spiders didn’t dare to approach, all of them shrinking back into the distance.
"What a huge bug."
"It’s not as big as the Sea Beasts in the ocean, but this bug makes my skin crawl."
"I’ve seen plenty of big things, but this is the first time I’ve seen a bug this huge."
"HISS—there are so many ants around."
"Are you blind? Those aren’t ants, they’re damn spiders."
"Damn, it’s so dark down here. Who can see clearly what they are?"
"This thing is called a Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle. It was discovered in this forest. These little spiders around it are Abdomen Aphid Spiders. From what we can tell, the Abdomen Aphid Spiders are influenced by the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle," Qin Ziwen explained to the group.
"Chief, are we going to conquer this forest next?"
"Yes. We can gather some of the vines and bushes here and take them back to see if they can be used as firewood."
"Mogu, I’ll trouble you to carry this Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle back," Qin Ziwen said, looking at Mogu.
"Leave it to me." Mogu grabbed the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle with one hand, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and started walking back steadily.
The Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle panicked a little, its two antennae twitching nonstop. The Abdomen Aphid Spiders, which had quieted down, became agitated again.
SMACK!
Mogu slapped the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle on its rear with a deadpan expression.
The Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle quieted down.
The Abdomen Aphid Spiders slowly gathered around. They didn’t attack, but instead followed behind Mogu, converging into a gray-green living carpet.
The rest of the group took their tools, went to the outskirts of the Underground Forest, and chopped down a number of plants, shouldering them for the journey back.
Once cut, the vines went limp. Several people lined up to shoulder them.
Lorne, who was walking at the back of the group, suddenly stopped and glanced back toward the distant underground lake.
...
"The trade is done. What are your thoughts?"
Bai Che mulled it over, then said, "They’re different from us. Perhaps it’s a difference in eras, but their sense of hierarchy isn’t as pronounced."
"Anything else?"
Bai Che sounded a little regretful. "I didn’t get to see the giant my sworn brother mentioned."
He was actually quite interested in this so-called giant.
It was a shame he didn’t get to see him.
"Other than that, I feel their weapons are better. Especially the man who defeated my sworn brother—the weapon in his hands is extraordinary. It was like a magical treasure used by an Immortal Daoist from the storybooks, as agile as a snake. It’s definitely not an ordinary item." Bai Che’s eyes glinted as he mentioned the Hunting Artifact.
Hearing this, Bai Shu’s interest was piqued. "Is it really as miraculous as you say?"
Bai Che affirmed, "Even more so."
Bai Shu picked up his teacup and savored it slowly, his eyes glinting faintly. "Che’er, don’t be hasty. There is nothing in this world that can’t be bought. It’s only ever a matter of price."
"Master, there’s a disturbance in the dark river in the southern caverns," the steward reported, rushing in.
"Did you get a clear look at what’s in the water?" Bai Shu asked, setting down his teacup.
"No, but it’s not small."
"Have everyone pull back. Don’t go near the river for now." Bai Shu took a few steps toward the door, then stopped and glanced back at the teapot and charcoal stove. "Add some more charcoal; don’t let the fire go out."
"Yes, Master."
Bai Shu left the courtyard and began to patrol within Cyan Stone Castle.
The place had been tidied up, but soon, more news arrived.
The thing from the water had come ashore.
"I’ll go take a look." Bai Shu had Bai Che and some men stay behind to guard Cyan Stone Castle. He then took a group of household retainers and walked some distance to the south. Ahead of them, a calm, subterranean river came into view.
On the riverbank, a soft-bodied creature, three or four meters long with dark, tiger-like stripes on its skin, was wriggling on the ground.
One end of a fishing rod was stuck in its body, while the other end was held in someone’s hand.
"What is that!?" the retainers who had come along exclaimed in shock.
"Master, could this thing be a Taisui that has become a spirit?"
"All of you, shut up. Be quiet." Bai Shu had his men approach with torches. He noticed the creature seemed to fear the light, shrinking back a little.
After a moment of careful observation, Bai Shu said with surprise and uncertainty, "This thing... it looks a bit like a leech from the paddy fields?"
"A leech!? My God, a leech this big... if it latched on, wouldn’t it suck you dry in an instant?" Someone, terrified, stumbled backward.
"Wait, Master, look over there!"
A subordinate pointed forward in terror.
At the edge of the underground river, large, writhing black shadows had begun to crawl out of the water...