Chapter 64: Queen Ant Egg

Little Yellow scratched his head, watching Wu Yuan ham it up like a stage actor. The hamster looked genuinely confused.

“Boss, you’re such a hypocrite! Most of those Snake Spirit Fruits ended up in your stomach, didn’t they?”

Wu Yuan snorted and lightly smacked the back of Little Yellow’s head.

“Think carefully before you speak! Besides, I’m amusing myself. The glorious tradition of the ‘Drama King’ must not be lost. You need to learn it, too!”

Little Yellow’s eyes lit up as if a lightbulb had clicked on.

He puffed out his already round belly, propping it up with his paws, and slowed his speech to a pompous crawl.

“Look! How is my acting?”

Wu Yuan’s face darkened. He kicked Little Yellow’s backside. “You never learn anything good!”

Little Yellow looked aggrieved, choking back his resentment. He reached into his Storage Bag, pulled out a Golden Thread Peach, and started angrily munching on it.

The Storage Bag was loot Wu Yuan had seized from the Goat Demon. It had a capacity of one cubic meter. Since Wu Yuan had no use for it, he had tossed it to Little Yellow, who had been ecstatic to receive it.

Leaving the hamster to his snack, Wu Yuan headed to the Spirit Plant Promotion Base, which was under Little Yellow’s direct management.

The plants here were new species discovered around Little Green Mountain. Little Yellow’s job was to figure out how to farm them and determine the properties of the unknown variants.

Successes like the Wolfberry and Bone-Penetrating Grass had been developed here before being rolled out to the rest of the territory.

Currently, Little Green Mountain was exploding with vitality. It was teeming with Fated Chances.

Wu Yuan spent the entire day leisurely strolling through his domain.

Seeing such vibrant life made his spirit soar. To his eyes, this wasn’t just nature—it was piles and piles of Spirit Stones.

Only when the sun began to dip behind the western peaks did Wu Yuan stand up, satisfied, and head back toward the mine tunnels.

He had barely inspected a fraction of his territory, but the day was already gone.

As soon as he stepped into the main cavern, Wu Yuan’s senses prickled. The atmosphere was off. A heavy tension hung in the air.

His gaze swept the area. Big Old Black, Little Gray, and Little White were huddled near the Fire Ant nest, whispering and pointing with grave expressions.

Curious, Wu Yuan strode over.

Upon closer inspection, he saw the usually fearless Fire Ant Queen pacing anxiously around her nest. She kept trying to burrow back inside, only to shrink back as if something terrifying was waiting in the dark.

A thought struck Wu Yuan. He instantly connected with the Spirit Mulberry Tree to replay the recent events at the nest.

Deep inside the tunnels, a fleshy ball was slowly wriggling. It radiated a familiar aura.

“Isn’t that the hand-beaten meatball Pangolin?” Wu Yuan thought, surprised. “It hasn’t been that long. He’s alive already?”

Big Old Black saw Wu Yuan’s surprise and hurried to explain.

“Boss, the Pangolin woke up this morning. The moment he opened his eyes, he tried to dive into the Fire Ant nest. There’s definitely something good in there attracting him.”

Big Old Black shivered slightly. “If you hadn’t shattered every single bone in his body, making him harmless, I don’t think I could have stopped him.”

Wu Yuan nodded, understanding the situation.

The only reason he had dared to bring the Pangolin back was the severity of its injuries. It shouldn’t have been able to move, let alone cause trouble. However, this obsession with the ant nest was intriguing.

“I saw the Pangolin was about to cry from anxiety,” Big Old Black continued. “So, I carried him inside the nest. But the moment we got in, he tried to burrow straight into the pile of Fire Ant eggs. It drove the Queen frantic.”

Big Old Black lowered his voice. “I took one look and realized… something was off with the Queen Ant. Guess what?”

Wu Yuan’s mind raced, connecting the dots.

The Pangolin didn’t make a peep while I was beating him into a pulp, but seeing the Fire Ants made him drool?

“Is there a treasure hidden in the nest?” Wu Yuan asked.

“Exactly.” Big Old Black nodded vigorously. “This dishonest Queen finally laid a true Queen Ant Egg recently. But she hid it! She didn’t report it to us!”

“The Pangolin sniffed it out immediately. That Queen has treachery in her heart!”

Wu Yuan felt a surge of joy.

He had wanted to fully tame the Fire Ant Queen for a long time, but her will was too chaotic to suppress without keeping the nest physically close to him.

He had been constantly stimulating her to mate, hoping for a Queen Egg. Recently, her behavior had been docile, and with the successive battles distracting him, he had grown negligent.

She had seized the opportunity to hide the egg.

At least she wasn’t ruthless enough to destroy it, Wu Yuan thought. Now that I have a fresh egg, applying the Spirit Controlling Seal should be much easier.

Wu Yuan ordered Big Old Black to fetch the prize.

The Queen Ant Egg was more than twice the size of a standard egg. Its white shell had a faint, pulsating red hue, and it radiated rich Spiritual Qi.

Holding it, Wu Yuan could feel the abundant life force surging within.

“Not bad. The Fire Ant Queen ate a lot of my resources. The quality of this egg is excellent—at least a Middle Grade First-Tier bloodline.”

Wu Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

He didn’t hesitate. He immediately cast the Spirit Controlling Seal on the egg.

This time, the process was silky smooth. There was none of the desperate, suicidal resistance he had faced with the adult Queen. The seal melted into the egg, establishing an unbreakable mental link with the life inside.

“Big Old Black,” Wu Yuan said, handing the egg back to the massive rat. “Take extreme care of this. Once it hatches, liquidate the old Queen.”

Wu Yuan’s voice turned cold and corporate.

“In the meantime, feed the old Queen the maximum dosage of Wolfberry. Squeeze every bit of value out of her before the replacement is ready. From now on, the colony belongs to the new management.”

Big Old Black took the egg, nodding repeatedly.

Wu Yuan then turned his gaze to the Pangolin, who was currently stuffing his face inside the Fire Ant nest.

Wu Yuan’s smile vanished. He flicked his wrist, sending a wooden vine shooting out. It wrapped around the Pangolin and yanked him across the cavern floor.

The Pangolin was clutching a pile of standard Fire Ant eggs, chewing frantically. Being suddenly dragged through the air startled him into freezing.

He looked up at Wu Yuan, his jaw pausing mid-chew.

He looked down at the eggs in his claws, hesitated for a long, painful moment, and then—with a look of utter heartbreak—extended one single egg toward Wu Yuan.

Seeing the creature’s simplified thought process, Wu Yuan couldn’t help but tease him.

“Oh? Not so stubborn anymore? You even know to share food?”

Wu Yuan leaned in. “Do you realize that all of these belong to me?”

The Pangolin froze again. His beady eyes darted back and forth between the massive Fire Ant nest and Wu Yuan.

A look of pure, unadulterated shock plastered across his face.

It was an expression that clearly said: You are that rich?! ALL these eggs are yours?!

Seeing the comical disbelief, Wu Yuan laughed.

“Are you convinced now? If you acknowledge me as your Boss, you can eat the good stuff whenever you want.”

The Pangolin nodded furiously, his head bobbing like a toy.