Chapter 419 - 391: The Great Forest Development
Half an hour later, Qin Ziwen dragged the freshly-fed Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle to the entrance of Giant Beast Heavy Industry, but it squatted at the doorway and refused to budge.
"Come on," Qin Ziwen said, turning back. He saw the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle trembling in fear.
Following the beetle’s gaze, he saw the wide, square entrance to Giant Beast Heavy Industry. It was a deep, pitch-black maw with a broad red carpet laid out beneath it, looking for all the world like a gaping, bloody mouth.
He glanced at the main entrance, which looked rather like a gaping, bloody mouth.
Chuckling, Qin Ziwen took two steps back, grabbed one of the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle’s claws, and hoisted it onto his shoulder before walking inside. "Relax, it won’t bite you."
Once the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle was inside, the Abdominal Aphid Spiders trailing it panicked, scurrying around in circles.
Finally, led by a particularly brave Abdominal Aphid Spider, the rest followed in single file, scurrying after them.
Qin Ziwen noticed that this brave spider was the largest of the Abdominal Aphid Spider colony.
[Common Abdominal Aphid Spider: ☆☆☆☆☆]
It was nearly half a meter long with a plump, round abdomen. ’It looks not only smart, but quite resourceful too.’
Once they arrived at the Giant Beast Breeding Center, Qin Ziwen finally lowered the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle from his shoulder.
"ROAR~"
Black heard the commotion and came running.
The darkness was its best camouflage. Little White Dragon, following behind its big brother, leaped onto Black’s back. Emboldened by its brother’s roar, it raised its head and howled with borrowed courage, "AWOO~"
The Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle sensed danger from the two dinosaurs, and its body tensed instinctively.
The Abdominal Aphid Spiders behind it surged forward like a tide.
Sensing a threat from the Abdominal Aphid Spiders, Black let out a wary, low growl.
"Stop! Both of you, stand down."
Standing between them, Qin Ziwen stopped the conflict from escalating.
The scene that had just unfolded strengthened his resolve to use the breeding center to tame these insects.
’If I wasn’t here, a full-blown fight would have broken out.’
"You’ll stay here for now. Let these Abdominal Aphid Spiders reproduce here and give birth to more spiderlings," Qin Ziwen instructed the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle. "As for the food they need to breed, I will provide it for you."
The Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle was confused. ’Why here?’ It much preferred the environment of the Insect Taming Hall, where it could lie on soft, warm sand piles. It was far more comfortable than this place.
"I’m not negotiating with you. This is an order!" Qin Ziwen’s tone was stern.
The Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle fell silent for a moment before finally lowering its head and letting out a submissive cry.
Seeing this, a flash of understanding crossed Qin Ziwen’s eyes.
’They fear power, not virtue. Simply reasoning with them is pointless. With insectoid creatures, you have to be firm sometimes.’
His tone softened slightly. "Don’t worry. You’ll still get your canned food while you’re living here."
Hearing that there would still be canned food, the Giant Aphid Rhinoceros Beetle, which had been forced to move in, perked up a bit.
Black let out a confused cry. It walked over, lowered its massive head, and nudged Qin Ziwen’s side.
"You’ll keep living here. I’m just going to section off an area next to yours for it," Qin Ziwen explained to Black. Then, as if by magic, he produced two cans.
Hot air puffed from Black’s nostrils. It gently gripped a can with the edge of its lips, flicked it into the air, and swallowed it whole.
GULP~
It ate so fast it didn’t even taste it.
Smacking its lips, Black gave a slight nod, indicating it understood.
Afterward, Qin Ziwen assigned the sandy and rocky areas on the first floor of the Giant Beast Breeding Center to the Abdominal Aphid Spiders.
He assigned the lush forest area to Black, drawing a dividing line down the middle so neither side would disturb the other.
He would be the one to provide the nutrition and food required for the Abdominal Aphid Spiders to reproduce.
These Abdominal Aphid Spiders were omnivores, not picky eaters, which made them easy to raise.
Back in the Home, everything was getting on track.
Meanwhile, Qin Ziwen had also dispatched men to keep a close watch on the shore of the underground lake, while another team began clearing the Underground Forest, felling the plants within.
After delivering the thank-you gift, Bai Shu and his people had returned to Cyan Stone Castle.
After two days of adjustment, the Gated Community was running smoothly.
A large number of new jobs were created.
Aside from the mines and the Military Equipment Supervisor’s workshops, where the furnaces burned twenty-four hours a day, most other buildings in the Home had slowed their operations.
The majority of the workforce had been dispatched to the area between the Gated Community and the Underground Forest.
Someone had even privately coined a slogan for the operation: the Great Forest Development Project.
...
Qin Ziwu sat astride a Dragon Scale Horse with Du Yu by his side. Behind them was a forty-man pioneering team.
The team had three new model 2.0 Car-Mounted Crossbows. Every member was fully armored and equipped with crossbows and spears.
Flanking them, two pairs of Single Claw Dragons darted nimbly ahead of the column, acting as scouts.
"Stay sharp, everyone!" Qin Ziwu bellowed. "Our mission today is to push forward and clear a main path for the logging team behind us."
"Understood!" the team shouted in unison, their voices echoing far into the cavern.
The shout startled numerous insects in the dense forest, sending them fleeing.
Xiang Hongyu, trailing at the rear of the formation, slipped a piece of paper under the side of his helmet to wipe the sweat from his brow. The underground caverns were generally cool, but strangely, the grotto containing the Underground Forest was incredibly hot and humid.
’There must be a geothermal source nearby,’ he suspected.
Having just arrived from the modern world, he was doing his best to adapt to this new environment.
That was why he had volunteered for this pioneering mission.
He had heard that completing missions earned contribution points, which could be exchanged for all sorts of things—even those miraculous Cards.
Deng Guang said, "Doctor Xiang, how about I carry that for you?"
"No, no, I’m fine," Xiang Hongyu said, hastily waving his hand.
Deng Guang said, "Alright. You’re the doctor. If a fight breaks out, just stay in the back."
"Okay, I will," Xiang Hongyu replied, straightening his helmet. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed something flash through the dense woods beside them.
"Over there, I think..."
He didn’t even get to finish.
Two sharp-eyed crossbowmen in the party had already raised their One-Handed Crossbows and fired toward the spot he had indicated.
THWANG!
The fletching of two Arrows vanished into the depths of the forest.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed from within the dense woods.
Immediately after, the trees began to shake violently.
A massive, goose-yellow figure burst out!
The figure blurred in mid-air, pouncing on a man at the edge of the formation.
"Get back!"
With a furious roar, Qin Ziwu thrust his Long Spear forward as the Dragon Scale Horse beneath him surged ahead.
The Long Spear struck true, hitting its target in mid-air.
But to Qin Ziwu, it felt like he had speared a wild bull. A numbing shock ran up his arm, and he nearly lost his grip on the Long Spear. The Dragon Scale Horse beneath him was forced back several steps.
The goose-yellow figure that had burst from the forest tumbled twice in mid-air before crashing to the ground.
It was a massive gecko, nearly three meters long.
The gecko’s eyes were crimson, and its movements were surprisingly agile. After crashing down, it immediately rolled over and tried to dart back into the dense forest.
Qin Ziwu’s momentum was spent, and he couldn’t muster another attack in time to stop it.
But he didn’t need to. The rest of the team had already reacted. Crossbows were raised, Bows were drawn, and a dense volley of Arrows swarmed the creature.
In an instant, the gecko was riddled with so many arrows it looked like a porcupine.
Fast as it was, it couldn’t outrun a sky full of arrows.
...
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